Information provided by Vincent "Jim" Vlach, Jr., Survivor
The headcount for the ship's company, Marine Detachment, Observations Squadron ONE and Flag Allowance of Commander Battleship Division ONE was 1512. This includes personnel who were away from the ship on leave in the continental U.S., on liberty and away at schools or other assignments but were to return to the ship upon completion. We had 335 survivors (including 15 from the Marine Detachment out of their headcount of 88). Our total loss of 1,177 KIA was the heaviest loss of life on any one ship in the history of the U.S. Navy.
Unfortunately the cards showing the Division the men were assigned were not recovered. However, most of our survivors came from the after part of the ship (Turrets III & IV). All men had sufficient time to reach their battle station after general quarters was sounded and before the first bomb hit Turret IV. All who were on board assigned to Turrets I and II were KIA, including the entire 21 members of the band who were assigned to Turret II. Also all who had battle stations in the sick bay, Central Station and Plot lost their lives if on board. The same applies to most men in the Engineering Departments who had battle stations well below the main deck. There are approximately 900 still entombed on our ship.
Editor's note: The exact count of men still entombed on the Arizona cannot be determined. Some may have been recovered and buried as "Unknown" with no ship name or other information. As of 1993, Ray Emory had confirmed the following: USS ARIZONA 124 unidentified; 124 bodies in 74 grave sites. Since then, the numbers have changed; as of 2021 there are 85 "Unknowns" interred at Punchbowl Cemetery that are attributed to the Arizona, with proper grave markers, thanks to the efforts of Ray Emory and Lorraine Marks-Haislip. Until we can account for all of the "Unknowns" we can't determine the number still onboard. However, with so many other factors to consider, we may never know the exact count of men still onboard.