US Navy Fireman 2nd Class David Alvin Matthews was born in Pensacola, Florida on February 9, 1922, the son of Nathaniel Dwight Matthews (1895-1966) and Mary Hattie Daw (1897-1964). His father was born in Kingston, Michigan but relocated to Pensacola as a farmer. His father supported his family in a variety of jobs to include a laborer at a dry dock in 1920 and a truck driver for a furniture company ten years later. In 1940, he was a laborer for the government and in 1944 a mechanic while living at 710 South "F" Street.
His son David would enlist in Pensacola in the US Navy on May 13, 1941, and was assigned to the destroyer APD-4 USS Little. He was promoted to 2nd Class on August 16, 1942, as his ship headed south toward the Solomon's. During the early days of the war, America moved to block Japan's expansion toward Australia. To do so, we landed US Marines on Guadalcanal and the battle was on. Following the losses at the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942, American destroyers were sent to deliver badly needed supplies to the embattled Marines. During the Savo Island battle, Pensacola lost three cruisers and five Pensacolians; George Vincent Lockwood (USS Vincennes), Ernest Cory Harris Jr. and James Otis Caraway (USS Astoria), and Thomas Louis Richards and Arthur Pete (USS Quincy). They also brought in Marine "Raiders" such as Pensacolian Vernon Eddins of the Pensacola High Class of 1943. On one mission David and his ship witnessed the destruction of the USS Colhoun on August 30 from an air attack where Pensacolian Robert Burns Hardy went down with his ship. Little did he know, he would follow Hardy in only six days.
On the night of August 5, the USS Little and USS Gregory were patrolling off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal while a Navy PBY Catalina flying over Savo Sound. Suddenly, they saw flashes in the dark and released a string of flares to illuminate what they thought was a submarine. The flares inadvertently lit up the two destroyers instead. In fact, the PBY had seen flashes from a Japanese destroyer force that was shelling Henderson Field on Guadalcanal while they dropped off troops and supplies on the embattled island. Seeing the two destroyers lit up, the surprised Japanese swung their searchlights on them and open fired. The two Americans were terribly outgunned but opened up with what they had anyway. The US destroyers delivered little damage on the three enemy ships but received tremendous damage that left them on fire and helpless by 0115 hours. The Japanese then sailed between the two victims and began machine gunning the survivors struggling in the water. The USS Gregory went down at 0140 hours with David and the USS Little following her two hours later.
In all, the USS Little lost 48 men with only 93 surviving crewmen rescued the following morning by PT Boats while eleven perished on the USS Gregory. His parents were notified of his "missing in action" status but everybody knew he was gone. His brothers William F. in the Navy and Dwight D. in the US Army were notified by letter from home, sadly only one of thousands such letters being received by other servicemen.
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