Ball, William Vycent

BALL, SUTHERLAND

Posted By: Nettie Mae (email)
Date: 5/22/2025 at 08:51:07

### **William Vycent Ball (1920–1941): A Young Sailor Lost at Pearl Harbor**

On July 15, 1920, in the quiet farming community of Douglas Township, Clay County, Iowa, William Vycent Ball was born to Wiley Winton Ball and Rebecca Laura Sutherland. Known affectionately as “Billie” in his youth, William was raised in a family shaped by rural values, hard work, and a deep sense of duty. The 1930 U.S. Census records nine-year-old Billie living with his father in Opequon, Frederick County, Virginia, where the family had relocated. Though born in Iowa, William's formative years were spent in the Shenandoah Valley, a region steeped in American history.

As a young man coming of age during the Great Depression, William—like many of his generation—looked to the U.S. Navy for purpose and opportunity. He enlisted in the Navy and was eventually stationed aboard the **USS *Arizona* (BB-39)**, a Pennsylvania-class battleship commissioned in 1916 and a symbol of American naval strength in the Pacific.

The *Arizona* had a proud service history, participating in training exercises, goodwill missions, and naval maneuvers throughout the 1920s and 1930s. By 1940, as tensions escalated in the Pacific, the battleship was moored at **Pearl Harbor**, Hawaii, along with the rest of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

On the morning of **December 7, 1941**, life aboard the *Arizona* changed irrevocably. In a surprise attack, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a devastating aerial assault on Pearl Harbor. At approximately 8:06 AM, a Japanese armor-piercing bomb struck the forward section of the *Arizona*, igniting the ship’s powder magazines. The resulting explosion tore the vessel apart, lifting the battleship out of the water and instantly killing over 1,100 of the 1,512 crewmen on board.

Among those lost was **Seaman First Class William Vycent Ball**, just 21 years old. His name is etched into the marble wall of the **USS *Arizona* Memorial** in Honolulu, Hawaii—a solemn tribute to his sacrifice. His body, like those of so many of his shipmates, was never recovered, and he remains entombed within the sunken battleship that became both his grave and his monument.

Remarkably, William’s older brother, **Masten A. Ball (1919–1985)**, was also aboard the *Arizona* that fateful day. Against incredible odds, Masten survived the attack, a living testament to the tragedy and heroism that unfolded at Pearl Harbor. His survival, juxtaposed with William's loss, became a poignant chapter in the Ball family legacy.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor galvanized the United States into entering World War II, a global conflict that would define the course of the 20th century. But for families like the Balls, history’s grand arc was deeply personal. William Vycent Ball’s story is not only one of military service and sacrifice, but also of a young man whose life was intertwined with one of the most pivotal moments in American history.

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*Sources:*

* “Iowa, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1800–1999,” FHL Film Number: 1434999.
* “1930 United States Federal Census,” Opequon, Frederick, Virginia.
* *Find A Grave* Memorial #7885008.
* Pearl Harbor survivor records and U.S. Navy muster rolls.

William Vycent Ball
 

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