Des Moines, Iowa — A sailor who lost his life in the attack at Pearl Harbor that brought the US into World War II is coming home to Iowa.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, July 7, 2018, to honor the fallen sailor.
Seaman First Class Leon Arickx, of Mitchell County, Iowa, was killed in action when the USS Oklahoma sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. The 22-year-old’s remains were identified in January 2018 and returned to his family in Iowa for burial. He will receive full military honors.
Graveside services for Seaman First Class Leon Arickx will take place at the Sacred Heart Cemetery of Osage at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 7th, 2018, 76-and-a-half years after his death.
