Arthur E. Rawers

Arthur E. Rawers was born on June 20, 1927, and raised in Lyons, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Arthur joined the United States Navy shortly after graduating high school in June 1945. Although it was the waning days of World War II, he was proud and honored to serve his country.

Arthur graduated from boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training, which is located just north of Chicago. He was assigned duty on the USS DAYTON (CL-105), a light cruiser. It was somewhat ironic that he got stationed on the USS DAYTON, as Arthur’s father, Arthur M. Rawers, prior to moving to Chicago in 1912, was from a little town just north of Dayton, Ohio.

It is true that Arthur did not see combat in the Pacific as the war had ended by the time he was assigned to the USS Dayton. He did, however, serve with many crew members who were veterans of combat in the Pacific conflict. He also first experienced, at age 18, being a long way from home and all the emotions that that entails.

Arthur was Honorably Discharged as a Seaman First Class on July 23, 1945. He returned to Chicago. He attended and graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, where he was a member of the college swim team. Upon graduation, he began a long career in education which also included him being a high school swimming and tennis coach.