Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center donates a piece of history to USS Arizona

Michael Cuviello, Amarillo Globe-News
·2 min read

On the 81st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, a delegation from the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center consisting of current director Tim Reid and former director Perry Gilmore traveled to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, for a keel laying ceremony commemorating the construction of a new submarine named for the USS Arizona that was sunk on that day.

Tim Reid, the executive director of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center, hands over a piece of the original USS Arizona hull to Nikki Stratton, the granddaughter of Don Stratton, who was one of the last remaining survivors of the attack on the ship at Pearl Harbor. Stratton passed away Feb. 16, 2020, at the age of 97.
Tim Reid, the executive director of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center, hands over a piece of the original USS Arizona hull to Nikki Stratton, the granddaughter of Don Stratton, who was one of the last remaining survivors of the attack on the ship at Pearl Harbor. Stratton passed away Feb. 16, 2020, at the age of 97.

Reid transported a piece of the USS Arizona that had broken away from the center’s 800-pound section of the ship that it has on display on its grounds, to be melted down into part of a steel plate mounted to the new ship in commemoration of the original ship. This is the largest piece of the USS Arizona outside of Hawaii or Arizona.

Tim Reid, the executive director of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center, stands next to a small piece that fell off the USS Arizona, which is on exhibit at the center.
Tim Reid, the executive director of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center, stands next to a small piece that fell off the USS Arizona, which is on exhibit at the center.
A piece of the USS Arizona hull is on exhibit at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center.
A piece of the USS Arizona hull is on exhibit at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center.

He said that a delegation that had visited the center, which included former Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barret who served from 2019 to 2021 in that position, had caught notice of its section of the USS Arizona and was a big reason for his center taking part in the keel ceremony.

At the ceremony, the plate had the initials of Nikki Stratton welded personally onto the plate for permanent mounting on the new submarine. Nikki Stratton is the granddaughter of Don Stratton, who, while badly burned, was one of the survivors of that attack as a Seaman First Class.  She was the ship’s sponsor and as per Navy tradition, the ship’s sponsor’s initials are placed on the new vessel. Donald Stratton died at the age of 1997 in February 2020.

The engraved plate that will be affixed to the new USS Arizona that used material from the original ship.
The engraved plate that will be affixed to the new USS Arizona that used material from the original ship.

Of the 2,341 service members aboard the USS Arizona, Stratton was one of 1,164 people who survived the attack on the ship. Only two surviving members of the USS Arizona are still alive, Ken Potts and Lou Contor.

Reid said that he did not feel it would be proper to entrust such a piece of history to the mail, so he transported the piece personally with the former director to make sure nothing happened to it.

Reid said that on his journey to the ceremony, he made sure to bring no attention to the piece of the USS Arizona in his possession, so he kept it disguised within an iPhone box.

A piece of the hull for the USS Arizona that was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor that was added to the hull of the new version of the USS Arizona currently in production.
A piece of the hull for the USS Arizona that was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor that was added to the hull of the new version of the USS Arizona currently in production.

Reid said that the new USS Arizona is basically complete in parts and will be put together in the coming year as a Virginia Class Submarine that will be one of six new submarines.

“This was an important piece of history. It was an honor for the city of Amarillo, our organization and for the Panhandle to be asked to be a part of this event,” Reid said. “Now we as a community are now etched in the history of the USS Arizona. We are proud to be entrusted with this piece of history at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center donates a piece of history