Local man laid to rest in national cemetery in Hawaii

Seaman First Class Maurice V. Spangler was laid to rest in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with full military honors on Jan. 4. He was the brother of Robert L. Spangler and wife of Virginia A. Spangler of Defiance.

Attending the service were Maurice’s nephew, Jerry L. Spangler; Jerry’s wife, Margaret; and Jerry’s sister-in-law, Amanda Spangler, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Born and raised in Defiance, Spangler enlisted in Indianapolis on Sept. 4, 1940. As soon as he went through basic training Spangler was sent to the USS Oklahoma in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He died on Dec. 7, 1941, on the Oklahoma, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The sailor received the Purple Heart, Combat Action ribbon, Good Conduct medal, American Defense Service medal (with fleet clasp), Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal (with Bronze Star), American Campaign medal and the World War II Victory medal.