Elton Francis CRANDALL, Sr.^{[1, 2, 3]}

1920 - 1995  (74 years)

• Name	Elton Francis CRANDALL
  Suffix	Sr.
  Born	16 Mar 1920	Gilbert, Maricopa, Arizona   [4, 5, 6, 7]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1930	Maricopa, Arizona
  Initiatory (LDS)	28 Nov 1956	ARIZO
  Died	11 Mar 1995	Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States   [4, 5, 6]
  Buried	Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States   [5]
  Person ID	I2	pember-crandall
  Last Modified	14 Jun 2020

  
  

  Father	Myron Hamilton CRANDALL,   b. 28 Nov 1897, Safford, Graham County, Arizona, USA ,   d. 22 Nov 1962, Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA  (Age 64 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth MOODY,   b. 5 Dec 1896, Thatcher, Graham, Arizona Territory, United States ,   d. 6 Mar 1987, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States  (Age 90 years)
  Married	11 Apr 1917	Thatcher, Graham, Arizona, United States
  _UID	C5ECB13C87EF5844A06A0FC6109BED5279A6
  Family ID	F4	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Unita Bernice PEMBER,   b. 31 Oct 1920, Cedaredge, Delta, Colorado, United States ,   d. 28 Apr 2007, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States  (Age 86 years)
  Married	24 May 1941	Yuma, Yuma Co., AZ
  _UID	26BEF86648D7AA4A88B255288B60C4AB667E
  Children	1. Myron Mike CRANDALL   2. Patricia Rae CRANDALL   3. Elton Francis (Buddy) CRANDALL   4. Thomas Gail CRANDALL   5. Susan Beth CRANDALL
  Last Modified	19 Feb 2019 00:14:29
  Family ID	F1	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show	2 photos
  	Elton Francis Crandall
  	Elton Francis Crandall

  
  

• Notes

  Elton wrote about his early life, school, sports, National Guard, Militar y and Unita. The history was written at different times so some things ma y be repeated or out of place. Page 1 I was born March 16, 1920 to Myron Hamilton & Elizabeth Moody Crandall. M y parents at this time, were living on a small farm situated on Val Vist a Road, starting about three-eights of a mile and ending one mile north o f Elliot road. I remember the north boundary ended directly across the ro ad from the south boundary of my Grandfathers ranch, and abutting the Ram sey Ranch. My Grandfather had 160 acres, with his house and barns on th e south east corner of Val Vista & Guadaloupe roads. Dad packed and lidde d cantaloupes to supplement his income. I remember being around the packi ng sheds at a very young age. He followed the cantaloupes from Brawley Ca lifornia to Pueblo Colorado. When I was seven the whole family & aunt Gen evieve went to Pueblo Colorado. I was very close to my grandparents and s pent many days at the ranch. In those days they had stationary hay balers . I remember getting the donkey to pull the hay onto the wagon on which t he baler was mounted. They used buckrakes to push the hay to the bailer t o make hay stacks. Page 2 The horses pushed it with the long wooden tines, which were about 10' lon g. They have one at the old Gilbert grammer school which is now a museum . I went to school there until dad went to work on Boulder Dam in 1931. W e stayed up there about 4 years until the dam was completed. We came bac k to Mesa about the middle of my Sophmore year in school. I was active i n football and Track. I played half-back and some quarterback. Always see med to have weak anchles and they sprained easily, so didn't play very mu ch. In track it seemed I was always 2nd best but I tried and made my lett ers. Bill Brocket was my best friend, we were always together footbal l & track. During our junior year we joined the National Guard. Enjoyed i t and it was quite an experience at 16 years old. We were in Battery E 15 8th Field Artillery. We had drill every monday and camp for two weeks i n the Summer. Rhode in the back of a truck to Fort Sill Oklahoma 2(?) yea rs. The 1st night we stopped in Demming New Mexico. The next night In Bi g Springs Texas and made it to Fort Sill the next day . We stayed in Tents just like in Mash, had to put them up ourselves, I wa s corporal but not too good at giving orders. We got to go to the World E xposition in Dallus our 2nd year go to see my 1st television - seems lik e it took up the whole room. page 3 The third year we went to Camp Bullis Texas close to San Antonio and we g ot to see the Alamo. Bill got a scholarship to play Football at the Unive rsity of Arizona. I tried out with Arizona State Teachers College but gave it up when I sprained my ancle. Dixie Howel was the then and w e played in the Border league. About the end of the 1st Semister Bil l & I signed up to Join the Navy but it was August before we went to Sa n Diego for Boot training. At that time it looked like we were going to b e in the war. My National Guard training came in handy and they made m e a 1st class Officer over about 60 other Boots. I was drill instructor w hen we marched. I didn't have to sleep in a hammock like other guys. Ther e was 2 platoon leaders one recruit Chief Petty Officer and one other rec ruit. We had a room with 4 bunks. We had to do our laundry and tie them t o ropes. They kept us busy doing something most of the time. The chow wa s good and I gained about 10 pounds. After Boot camp Bill and I went aboa rd the heavy Cruiser USS Chester stationed at Long Beach. The Pike on th e water front was a fabulous place just like a Carnival with a big Rolle r Coaster etc. I got to visit my Aunt Ida who lived in Venis and Aunt Gle nna in Bell. That was in 1939 in early 1940 they moved the Chester to Per l Harbor where we were stationed until November 1941 when we escorted a c ouple of Troop ships to the Phillipines . Page 4 We escorted the last troops which were made up of Arizona & New Mexico Ba ttalions called the Bushmasters. We left Manila about 9 days before the w ar started. In fact we joined up with a Carrier task force at Wake Island . They had just brought a squadron of airplanes to Wake Island. We were d ue into Pearl Harbor Saturday the 6th of December. We broke a couple of h oses when we were refueling and some of the other destroyers didn't refue l like Admiral Hawlsey wanted so he kept us out at sea until Sunday. We w ere about Thirty-Five miles southwest of Oahu Hawaii when the Japs attach ed Pearl Harbor. There was a good cloud cover or they could have seen us . I remember I was still in the after diving compartment sitting on my bu nk. The Chaplain had just been down trying to get men out to church, when General Quarter s sounded gong - gong - gong and th e Boatswain blew his pipe and said Now all hands man there Battle Stations . Pearl Harbor has just been attacked this is no drill. So the Carriers t ook us after the Jap Carriers - but they were about 250 North of us. We d idn't have enough fuel and so we went into Pearl Harbor about 1 or 2pm . I remember the Arizona was still burning and I remember we they were fi shing dead Sailors out of the water. The U.S.S. Nevada had tried to mak e it out of the harbor but was sinking and so they beached he r Page 5 just before she entered the channel so wouldn't block it. We went right t o work and changed all the Ammunition aboard ship which took all afternoo n. There had been a mini sub in the harbor and ship were firing at tin ca ns in the water. It wasn't safe to go topside that night . Page 1 After Graduating from High School I went to Arizona State Teachers Collag e at Tempe for a year. Bill Brocket and I joined the navy in August of 19 39. After going to Boot Camp in San Diego we were assigned to the U.S.S . Chester, a Heavy Cruiser, Stationed in Long Beach Cal. In late 1940 w e went thru the Panama Canal and went to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Bill Bro cket was transferred to shore duty. Yorktown & In 1941 we were statione d at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. About the 1st of November 41 we Escorted a conv oy of ships to Manilla, Philipine Islands. Aboard these ships was the Bus hmaster Battalion including men from Arizona, New Mexico & Texas. On th e way we came in contact with a Jap Task force, but nothing happened. W e left Manilla about November 28th and headed toward Pearl Harbor. Abou t the 4th of December we joined up with a Task force group including th e Aircraft carriers Lexington Yorktown & Saratoga. We were due in Pearl H arbor Saturday the 6th of Dec 41, but Admiral Hawlsey had us stay out a n extra day to practice refueling at sea. Therefore when Pearl Harbor wa s attacked we were less than 40 miles South of Pearl Harbor. That is th e reason Japan did not find any flat tops in Pearl Harbor when they attac ked. We entered Pearl Harbor that Page 2 afternoon. The Arizona was still burning all the Battleships were sunk. T he Nevada tried to make it out but was beached just shy of the entrance . Pearl Harbor was a mess. We were in the Marshall Gilbert Raid and too k a bomb amidship. Exploded in the Mess Hall before decks and it was a me ss. After that the Chester was sent back to the Vallejo Navy Yard for rep airs. I was transferred to the U.S.S. Gansevoort DD-608 a new destroyer . We were sent to the South Pacific where we did Convoy Dutybetween New Z ealand and Guadacanal. Then went north to the Aleutianas Islands when th e Japs invaded Kiska. After that we stopped in at the Bremerton Navy Yar d South of Seattle Washington. There I was transferred to Advanced Fire C ontrol School in Washington D.C. I was a few days late for a class to st art or 20 days Early so they gave 24 day leave and I returned to Mesa t o be with Unita. (The following was entered on the side of Elton's story . Could not find where it belonged) On May 21st 1941 I married Unita Pember in Yuma AZ. After which we return ed to long Beach for a few days. Page 3 I stayed at school for 6 months after which I was sent to Bath Maine fo r Pre Commissioning detail on the U.S.S. Maddox DD-731 a new twin mount 2 200 tok(Toh?) class Destroyer. I sent for Unita to join me in Bath Maine , our oldest son Elton Jr. was a little over a year old and we had a fe w weeks together in Bath Maine which was a nice little town. After we wer e launched we were sent to the Boston Navy Yard for jetting out and was commisioned there. Nita and Bud moved to Boston. We w ere close to the Charles River just across the river from Harvard Univers ity. We rented a basement flat. It was level with the ground in the bac k yard. Street was a floor above. Gale Clarkson and his wife had the fla t above us. After the Maddox was commissioned the ship went to Bermuda fo r Shakedown Cruise. Nita stayed in Boston. When we came back to Boston w e just stayed for a few days and we headed for the Panama Canal & the Sou th Pacific. Unita and Bud headed back for Mesa. We went through the cana l and on up to San Diego. Stayed there for a few days and headed for Pear l Harbor. We stayed there a couple of days and joined a small task grou p and headed for the South Pacific to join up with the third fleet whic h was headed by Admiral Hawlsey. Page 4 At this time we were in task force 38 but when Admiral Spruance took ove r we changed to task force 58. This is copied from an unsourced newspaper clipping . A picture of Elton and Garland is shown. Probably the Arizona Republic. Friday June 26, 1942 Mesa Sea Heroes Are Honored From left Garland Harrison and Elton Crandall, as they appear in Mesa far from the theater of war. Mesa paid tribute Tuesday evening at the rendezvous to three sailors , the first Mesa boys to return afte r having engaged in action in the war . They are Garland Harrison who saw his ship sunk by a submarine in the Atlantic, Elton Crandall who narrowly missed death in the actio n of the Marshall Islands and Rober t Sargent who was on the Arizona when she was lost in Pearl Harbor. Crandall, fire controlman, second class is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Myron H. Crandall, 440 Johnson street and the husband of Mrs. Bernlce Pember Crandall. also of Mesa. He was on a heavy crusier when the ship was bombed by a Jap plane, but the ship was not severely damaged. Eleven men were lost in the bombing. Crandall, wh o enlisted August 7, 1939, graduate d from Mesa High School with the class of 1938. On one voyage he spent three months at sea. He has cruised more than 250,000 miles. Harrison, son of Mr. and Mrs. O. P. Harrison quit high school in hi s junior year to enlist in the Navy.His ship was destroyed by an enemy submarine "a few weeks" ago in th e Atlantic. He floated with his lif e jacket for (missing) rescued by another Naval craft. Sargent narrowly escaped a fiery death in the battle of Pearl Harbo r when his ship, the Arizona, was sunk by Japanese dive bombers. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert I. Sargent. He has been in the servic e more than two years. The boys have instructions not to give details of their experiences. Funniest incident, one reported , was a sailor nonchalantly floating on a life-raft reading a book he had picked up out of the water. The community program in their honor Tuesday was arranged by Elmer Jones, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Major John A. Hamblin made the principal address. From Unita's life story €œI took role in the English class. One day Harold Crandall was absent . There were two Crandalls, Curly and Harold. Harold had real curly hair . The teacher was out of the room and some of the other kids were helpin g me take role. So I thought that Harold was Curly because his hair was s o curly, so I marked Curly absent. For about two weeks he was absent. I n ever was scolded for that mistake. I guess no one but me knew it. Anyway , that is the way I met my future husband. I found out his real name wa s Elton after we got engaged. I went over to see his mother all the time, when I wasnt working. I go t lots of attention because they had no girls and I was their first daugh ter-in-law. It seemed like that was my home so much of the time. Posted in Facebook Linda Crandall Cameron I'm sure proud of Uncle Elton. I was talking to m y dad, and he said that Elton was in a fleet with General Halsey when Pea rl Harbor was bombed. They were on about 700 miles away returning to Hawa ii from the Phillipines and missed being attacked. He was a fire patrolma n (told the gunners where to fire at the enemy). He served in almost ever y major encounter. Thanks for sharing, Amy. Karen Crandall Clarkson He was in 21 major sea battles including the Batt le of Midway. Also the Battle of Coral Sea. He was on the USS Chester an d was a fire control man. He had a bomb go off 10 feet from him and it ex ploded under deck. He escaped from the ship before it sank. Myron Crandall My grandpa was the best. I remember he was big into baseba ll. I watched Kirk Gibson hit his infamous home run back in 88 with him. Descents from John Howland (Mayflower)and Elizabeth Tilley JOHN HOWLAND (b. 1592; md Elizabeth Tilley) | DESIRE HOWLAND (b. abt Feb 1625-26; md John Gorham) | MERCY GORHAM (b. 20 Jan 1658; md George Denison) | ELIZABETH DENISON (b. 11 Sep 1689-90; md Christopher Champlin) | JOSEPH CHAMPLIN (b. 4 Aug 1709; md (2) Mary Noyes) | JOSEPH CHAMPLIN (b. abt 1765; md Mercy Sisson) | WILLIAM SISSON CHAMPLIN (b. 16 Apr 1794; md Mary Ring) Angeline Avilda Champlin Margaret Emma Champlin | Alonzo Hamilton Packer | Clara Mable Packer | Myron Marcellus Crandall | Myron Hamilton Crandall | Elton Francis Crandall

  
  

• Sources

  [S2] Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1 880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da y Sa, Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=33810113&pid=33 [S5] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories (Beta) (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data - Original sources vary according to directory. The title o f the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of. [S6] Ancestry.com, U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Or iginal data - Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Nava l Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949; A-1 En. http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=navymuster&h=37481336&ti=0&indiv=tr y&gss=pt [S1] Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Or iginal data - Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index , Master File. Social Security Administration.Original data: S, Number: 527-32-9977; Issue State: Arizona; Issue Date: Before 1951. [S2] Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1 880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da y Sa. [S3] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S4] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Or iginal data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth C ensus of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: Nati, Year: 1930; Census Place: Gilbert, Maricopa, Arizona; Roll: 59; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0071; Image: 279.0; FHL microfilm: 2339794.