Seaman First Class (S1c) David Franklin Tidball, United States Navy, Service Number: 3214489

Early Life

David Franklin Tidball was born on 9 October 1921 in Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa. His father Raymond F. Tidball, born 24 August 1884 in Monticello, Jones County, Iowa, died 21 May 1965 in Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa, was a Partner in a dry goods store. His mother, Irma Hopkins was born on 2 April 1888 in Cona Center, Buchanan County, Iowa and died on 3 February 1978 in Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa. David’s parents were married on 18 May 1910 in Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa. David was the third of four children in the family; he had an older brother, an older sister and a younger brother. He was a graduate of Independence High School and also attended junior college. His older brother Charles served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Military

David Franklin Tidball enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 30 July 1940. After boot camp and additional follow-on training, he was assigned to the Battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) which was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii when the Japanese attack occurred. He reported aboard Oklahoma on 12 October 1940.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, a fleet of Japanese carriers launched an air strike against the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The attack decimated the ships and personnel of the fleet and thrust the United States into World War II. At the onset of the 7 December 1941 attack, the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37), being moored at berth Fox 5 on “Battleship Row.” Just before 8 am, the Oklahoma was among the first of the ships struck in the attack. A torpedo struck on her port side and she capsized quickly. After the Arizona, she was the largest loss of life, at 429 sailors and marines. The Oklahoma was salvaged in 1942, but it was determined she could not be repaired. In May of 1947, she was sold for scrap and while under tow to California, she sank in a storm. Her exact location remains unknown to this day.

Death and Burial

David Franklin Tidball was Declared Dead while Missing in Action or Lost at Sea on 7 December 1941 aboard the USS Oklahoma during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal. He was memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial, Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, located inside Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is also memorialized at the USS Oklahoma Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class David F. Tidball, 20, killed during World War II, was accounted for on March 3, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Tidball was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Tidball.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Sources

https://pearlharbor.org/history-uss-oklahoma/

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor-raid/battleship-row-during-the-pearl-harbor-attack/uss-oklahoma-and-uss-maryland-during-the-pearl-harbor-attack.html

https://www.fold3.com/memorial/636577179/david-tidball

https://www.fold3.com/page/530009250/david-f-tidball

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56133655/david-f-tidball

https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=33995

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2663096/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-tidball-d/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85975297/the-gazette/

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61186/images/41914_3421606198_0029-00299?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=8614451610caa90f8f64e857be6fbcab&usePUB=true&_phsrc=5ru1320595&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.97813595.534721435.1632351960-1128903496.1596401247&pId=9067

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2324/images/32456_1220705235_0010-00706?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.227844185.534721435.1632351960-1128903496.1596401247&pId=145675

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

If you noticed anything missing in this profile, you may contact the author by clicking on this link:
https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=Profile&type=Person&ID=148728 (Mulvanny, Robert (Red) (SBTS Historian), CDR)

Tidball, David Franklin, S1c