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Arlie Keener: Butler County's First WWII Casualty PDF Print E-mail

The photos and items shown here were donated to the Butler County Historical Society by Arlie Keener's nephew, Ralph P. Anderson of Long Branch, Texas. According to Mr. Anderson, Arlie Keener lived near the community of Keener Springs in northern Butler County; however, he is listed as a WWII Veteran on the Veteran's Memorial in Greenville, Mo., which is the county seat of Wayne County.

Anyone having information regarding the life and relatives of Arlie, please post your comments at the end of this article.

Arlie joined the US Army Cavalry in the 1930s and trained at Fort Riley, Kansas. After serving in the Army for awhile he decided to return to civilian life and get some business training. He completed a course of study at the Caruthersville Missouri Business College. After graduating, he could not find a job because of the lingering depression.

He joined the Navy and was assigned to the USS California. He was aboard the California during the attack of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, when he was killed in action, thus becoming the first Butler or Wayne County resident to make the ultimate sacrifice during World War II.

Click the image below to open a gallery of photos:

 

Comments  

 
#1 mbouman 2010-01-22 06:26
Wherever possible, a photo would be enhanced with a caption of a few sentences. The visitor to the collection doesn't understand how a man who enlists in the Navy spends time with horses and machine guns. Was this basic training? The picture of the dog tags is a stark and sobering reminder of what the loss of a life is about. That image really should come last in the sequence.
 

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