Flags to Half-Staff on Friday in Honor of Navy Seaman 2nd Class Arthur R. Thinnes Who Lost His Life During the Attack on Pearl Harbor  

Editor’s note: The following information was provided by the office of the governor.
 
Oct. 15 – Gov. Tony Evers today signed Executive Order #137 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Fri., Oct. 15, 2021, in honor of Navy Seaman 2nd Class Arthur R. Thinnes, who lost his life during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  

“Our state is proud of our servicemembers and their tremendous sacrifices, and we pay our deepest respects to the life and memory of Mr. Thinnes,” said Gov Evers. “I am glad to know that after nearly 80 years he is finally being laid to rest in the place he once called home.” 

Navy Seaman Thinnes, assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, lost his life on Dec. 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, was attacked by Japanese aircraft and sustained multiple torpedo hits that capsized the boat, claiming the life of Navy Seaman Thinnes and 429 of his fellow crewmen. Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew between 1941 and 1944 and interred unidentified remains, including those of Navy Seaman Thinnes, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu shortly after World War II. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed USS Oklahoma Unknowns in 2015 for scientific analysis and identified Navy Seaman Thinnes, who was accounted for on March 24, 2021.   

Navy Seaman 2nd Class Arthur R. Thinnes will be laid to rest with full military honors at Wood National Cemetery in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Fri., Oct. 15, 2021. 

Executive Order #137 will be in effect from sunrise to sunset on Fri., Oct. 15, 2021, and is available here.
Share This
Posted in

Other Recent Posts

WHS Announces Honor Roll and High Honor Roll for Second Semester 2025-2026

#Flashback Friday with the Historical Society: Bicentennial Wagon Train Visit to Whitewater in 1976

4th of July Parade Registration Last Call

Try the Reformer — Free Intro Class at Pilates Reformed!  

Local Residents Honored for Scholastic Achievement at UW-Stevens Point

This Week’s Rummage Sale

Versiti Blood Drive – Thursday at Cravath Lakefront Center

Strawberry Stampede & Silent Auction at the Methodist Church

Intergenerational Services Offered at Seniors in the Park [Updated]

Obituary: Gemelino Paris Esperante, 83

Five Potential Rounds of Severe Thunderstorms – Wednesday through Thursday

Whippet City Mile Tradition Continues

DHS Offers Free In-Home Asthma Management Services for Eligible Families in Rock County

Jefferson County Launches Enhanced Emergency Medical Dispatch System

Local Residents Named to SNHU President’s List