USS Arizona ROC

• Name of Record: Ernest Mathew Alten
• Branch: United States Navy
• Service Number: 376 30 81
• Rate: S2/c (Seaman Second Class)
• Duties: Know naval drill duties, knots, steering and signaling. Stand watch and gunnery duties.
• Enlisted: 18 April 1941
• Place: San Francisco, California
• Onboard USS Arizona: 13 July 1941
• From: NTS San Diego

• Birth Name: Ernest Mathew Alten
• Date of Birth: 20 March 1924
• Place of Birth: Alameda County, California
• School: Oakland High School
• Hometown / State on December 1941: Oakland, California
• Next of Kin: Mrs. Bernice Alten - Mother
• Address: 2755 Vallecito Pl., Oakland, California
• Parents: Ernest "Ernie" Mathew Alten & Bernice Mary Fehely Alten

• Disposition: Unrecoverable – Among the 900+ souls still onboard the USS Arizona
• Posthumous Awards: Purple Heart, American Defense Service Medal w/Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/Star, WWII Victory Medal

Shortly after the birth of Ernest, the family moved to Nashville, TN where his father played professional baseball. By 1935, the family had moved back to the Oakland, CA area.

Service information from the Vincent J. Vlach, USN Ret., (USS Arizona Survivor & Ship's Historian) and I. B. Nease, USNR Ret., (USS Arizona Historian) Collections [privately held collections]
Other Information, Documents, and/or Photos provided by N. A. Nease [privately held collection]
Report of Changes: National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, United States; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; Record Group: 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798 - 2007; Series ARC ID: 594996; Series MLR Number: A1 135