John A. Lipple and George A. Wolf Jr. were both assigned to the USS Arizona.

Lipple, a 1935 graduate of Patton High School and a resident of Ashville, served as shipfitter first class. He was listed as Missing in action on Dec. 7, 1941, and later declared deceased. He is buried on the USS Arizona and memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is also memorialized with a cenotaph at St. Thomas Cemetery in Ashville, and the VFW Post 4315 in Ashville is named for him. Lipple’s story can be read at https://www.fold3.com/memorial/636562225/lipple-john-anthony-sf1c/stories.

Wolf, of Altoona, served as ensign. He first attended Waldron Academy in Philadelphia, then St. John’s parochial school in Altoona and Altoona Catholic High School, graduating with honors in 1935. He was an associate of Wolf Furniture with his father and uncle.

Wolf’s story can be read at https://www.fold3.com/memorial/657787247/wolf-george-anderson-jr-ens/stories.

Brubaker

Brooks J. Brubaker Jr. was a private who served on the 22nd Material Squadron of the Army Air Forces.

Brubaker, 20, of Lakemont, was serving as a ground mechanic at Hickam Fuel, near Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. He was killed in action during the Japanese blitz, according to a war department telegram received by his mother.

Brubaker’s story can be read at https://www.fold3.com/memorial/657781298/brubaker-jr-brooks-james-pvt/stories.

John C. Pensyl was a gunner’s mate second class and served on the USS Helena. His story can be read at https://www.fold3.com/memorial/636584907/john-pensyl.

Volunteers credited with success

Pensyl

The Pearl Harbor project was completed by volunteers, who have so far collectively written nearly 22,000 stories, including stories on all 2,502 Americans who died in Normandy on D-Day. Volunteers are being sought to write stories for the nonprofit and can be junior high students to retirees. No experience is needed, as Stories Behind the Stars provides training and free access to research sites like Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com.

“Basically, if you can write an obituary, you can research and write one of these short stories in as little as a couple of hours,” said project founder Don Milne of Louisville, Kentucky. “Be forewarned. This is a very addictive and enriching experience. Quite a few individuals have already written hundreds of stories.”

The current project is writing the stories of all the 8,300 WWII fallen who are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

For more information, visit storiesbehindthestars.org.

Stories Behind the Stars also has a library of podcasts where volunteers are interviewed about the stories they write.