PFC Layne Nordstrom
Service Number:*301383
Birth and Early Life:
Clarence Layne Nordstrom was born in Alberta, Canada on January 15, 1921. He and his parents emigrated to the United States and settled in Fairview, Utah.
Enlistment and Boot Camp:
Upon his enlistment in Salt Lake City on September 17, 1940, Nordstrom dropped his given first name and was known by Layne. He attended boot camp and Sea School in San Diego, and was assigned to*the Marine detachment aboard the carrier*USS Lexington*in 1941.
Wartime Service:
Nordstrom was promoted to Private First Class in 1941; he and his carrier toured around the Pacific and were thankfully out at sea when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. They would become some of the first Americans to take the fight to the Japanese in the battle of the Coral Sea in May, 1942.
Date Of Loss:
Layne Nordstom heard the call to General Quarters early in the morning of May 8, 1942; he was at his position as a second loader for Gun #6, #2 Antiaircraft Battery before 0600, and watched the carrier's air group take off for another strike at the Japanese fleet.
At around 1100 hours, the Marines on the antiaircraft batteries were warned that many enemy aircraft were approaching. The Japanese were soon in range; every gun on the*Lexington*began spitting fire, and the big carrier began weaving and turning in evasive maneuvers. They had no luck; at approximately 1125, following two torpedo strikes, a bomb struck the flight deck near Gun #6, penetrated an ammunition ready locker, and set off the gunpowder stored there. The resulting explosion destroyed Gun #6, killed or wounded the entire crew, and caused havoc with nearby Gun #4.
Of the 30 members of the gunnery detachment lost in the sinking of the*Lexington,*21 were from the Marine detachment.
PFC Nordstrom was lost at sea. He would be commended with seventeen other men in an official dispatch:
They remained at their posts efficiently performing assigned duties during strafing, explosions of torpedoes in the near vicinity of the battery, and after an aerial bomb had exploded and fired a locker of heavy ammunition at the battery. They extinguished the fire, policed the battery and readied the only remaining serviceable gun for further defense of the ship. As a result of their actions, they efficiently assisted in the defense of LEXINGTON by fast, accurate fire under extremely difficult circumstances.
Ogden Utah Standard Examiner August 14, 1942
Next Of Kin:
Parents, Mr. Mrs. Martin Nordstrom
Status Of Remains:
Lost at sea.
Memorial:
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines.