TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Now on display at the University of Arizona: a new look at what life was like onboard the USS Arizona in the months before the battleship sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A new collection of rare memorabilia was hand-delivered to the university by a couple who travelled to Tucson from the Green Bay, Wisconsin area.
Lowell and Wendy Franklin discovered the trove of USS Arizona history inside their home last month.
“Just want to make sure that it’s preserved,” Lowell told KGUN on Wednesday. “And this is the best way to accomplish that.”
“I heard him kind of getting choked up,” Wendy recalled. “He came up with piles of things and said, ‘This is my dad’s memories. This is my dad.’”
Lowell’s father, Arthur, served on the battleship as a member of the U.S. Navy.
He was honorably discharged only months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. This collection is a snapshot of life onboard before the tragedy.
“We saw all of these materials, and thought, ‘If this stays in the box for another 20 years, it’ll be destroyed,” Wendy explained. “And so our first thought was, ’It’s a no-brainer. It’s gotta go someplace where somebody can preserve it, restore it, hang onto it and share the story.’”
That place became the University of Arizona, home to a USS Arizona memorial and an impressive collection of artifacts from the ship.
Arthur left behind journals, notes, lots of personal photographs. He also worked at a print shop onboard the ship, keeping samples like programs and menus.
“The scrapbooks are incredible: Sanitized navy photographs along with personal photographs Arthur took onboard the ship,” said Trent Purdy, curator of the USS Arizona collection at UArizona. “The Liberty Card that he donated was extra special. It’s the only specimen that we have of that format, that material, in the collection. So that, to me, is really the cherry on top.”
Lowell, who is battling Alzheimer’s, says the day after Pearl Harbor, his dad reenlisted for four more years.
“The people that died that day were his brothers, his family,” said Wendy. “And that’s why, for us, the story has to be told. He can’t do it in his own words, so, here we are.”
“My dad, I know he’s happy today,” Lowell added. “That it’s here and will be here forever. And it makes me feel good. And it’s just the right thing to do.”
The USS Arizona artifacts are part of the University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections, which is open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Some of the materials are on display inside the USS Arizona Lounge at the Student Union.
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Ryan Fish is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9 and comes to the Sonoran Desert from California’s Central Coast after working as a reporter, sports anchor and weather forecaster in Santa Barbara. Ryan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, frequently visiting family in Tucson. Share your story ideas and important issues with Ryan by emailing ryan.fish@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
