Rodney Norman Hietala
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Rodney Norman Hietala joined the U.S. Navy, enlisting on December 15, 1943, three days after his seventeenth birthday,
He served in World War II in the Pacific Theater his rank was Petty Officer 2nd Class.
He attended basic training in Idaho and then had advanced training in Oklahoma. He was assigned to Hawaii for two years and then was sent to California where he was assigned to various Naval air stations.
He was discharged in October 1947.
Mr. Hietala was born in 1926 in Duluth, Minnesota, the son of Norman and Esther Hietala. He graduated from high school.
Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form; veteran’s account (below)
“On December 12, 1943, I became seventeen years old. December 15, 1943, I enlisted in the Navy. Boot camp in Idaho. School in Oklahoma. Hawaii for twenty-five months. Naval air stations in California.”
