The early life of Earl Jack Peters, was beset by tragedy. Four months prior to the birth of Earl and his twin brother Ernest, his dad was murdered. Just nine years later, his mother passed away from a stroke, but his luck changed when he met his future wife Reba Firestone, at a local hometown dance. Their love story unfolded against the backdrop of the Great Depression, and the tumultuous 1940s, a time overshadowed by World War II.
Prior to his enlistment, Earl was employed as a laborer and helped to build the Youghiogheny Dam in Confluence, Pennsylvania, with the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Reba and Earl had a daughter, Bernice, and another on the way, when he was called to service in 1944.
Earl was a Seaman Second Class, and Carly assumes he would have performed his duties with the upmost dedication and pride, knowing he was helping to serve his country.
Carly’s grandmother, Garnet, was born on June 3, 1945. She was nearly 2 months old when her father died in the ship’s sinking. Now a widow, Reba and her young girls moved in with her mother, where she found a part-time job as a cashier in a local market. She remarried, and her daughters grew up with a stepfather who helped raise and guide them.
Carly's family does not know if her great grandfather's life was taken in the initial torpedo explosion, or if he was one of the approximately 900 men who initially survived and then lost his life in the water. She has read about survivors, and listened to the memorial video of survivor Edgar Harrell, and likes to imagine the two men would’ve been friends. It provides her with a glimpse of the kind of man she envisions he was, and gives her solace in the void that remains with her family.
Carly says that the ripple effects of Earl’s sacrifice continue to shape the fabric of our family to this day. His memory serves as a beacon of inspiration, a reminder of the enduring power of resilience in the face of adversity.
Rank / Rating: S2-Seaman Second Class
ABBOTT, George Stanley 
FRONTINO, Vincent Fred 
AMICK, Homer Irwin