Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

This item is on semi-permanent display in the WVRHC Conference Room. When not on display it is offsite, and a surrogate image is hung in its place. Please contact the Center prior to visiting to determine if the original is onsite.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], U.S.S. West Virginia Life Preserver, A&M 4640, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Earl G. "Ken" Kendrick, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

This original World War II ring life preserver, from Colorado-class battleship the U.S.S. West Virginia, was retreived from the water by sixteen-year-old Charles House Morgan Jr., son of Charles House Morgan Sr., the U.S. Commander of Harbor Defence at Pearl Harbor. Morgan Jr. was walking to headquarters at Diamond Head on December, 7 1941, when he saw the Japanese planes attack just 200 feet away.

Scope and Contents

This life preserver, constructed of treated canvas over foam, was salvaged from the wreckage of the U.S.S. West Virginia (BB-48) after the surprise December 7, 1941 Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The life preserver measures 25 inches in diameter and includes the phrase, "U.S.S. W. Va. 1st Fire and Rescue Div" painted in red.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Kendrick, Earl G. (Ken)
• Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941
• United States Navy - USS WEST VIRGINIA.
• West Virginia (Ship)
• World War, 1939-1945