Edward Arzinger

Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA

Branch of Service: Navy

Unit: USS Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668) and USS Wickes (DD-578)

Theater of Operation: Pacific

Highest Rank: Petty Officer 3rd Class

Military Honors: Navy Unit Citation

Honored By: Witness To War, Ike's Soldiers and the Eisenhower Foundation

Arzinger served on the destroyer USS Bronson when it was newly commissioned, making him a plank owner on that ship. Upon arrival at Pearl Harbor, Arzinger was transferred to the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Wickes as a Torpedo Striker. On the Wickes, he participated in the battles of Corregidor and Okinawa. Following Okinawa, they returned to San Francisco, where they celebrated the end of the war. He was then assigned to shore patrol in New York City for eight months. He was discharged in 1946.

He considered rejoining the Navy, but they wanted him to start over at the rank of Seaman. At the urging of a friend, Arzinger joined the Army Air Corps as a ‘buck sergeant,’ a rank equivalent to his Navy 3rd class rank. This was during the time of the Berlin air lift when the Americans were dropping food and supplies. Reluctant to be transferred to Germany and possible war with Russia, he was transferred to Smoky Hill Air Base in Salina, Kansas. He met his future wife on a blind date in Wichita, Kansas. His next assignment was as a photo lab technician at Hickam Field in Hawaii. He remained there until his discharge, when he returned to Kansas to be married. Next came a move to New Jersey, where Arzinger enrolled in an Aircraft and Engine certification course. He joined the Naval Reserves and got called up as a torpedo man during the Korean War. The war ended before he got to Korea. He and his wife returned to Wichita, Kansas.