Keith Silva

While we do not have documentary evidence to prove that Keith Bernard Silva was in the Spring Class of 1942, it was reported as such by individuals who knew him.

        Keith was born on June 25, 1924. in Mill Valley, California, to Henry J. and Ruth Silva.

        Keith attended Lawton Grammar School and then entered Abraham Lincoln High School on October 26, 1940. However, he withdrew from from Lincoln on September 3, 1941, prior to graduating and enlisted in the United States Navy. He was proficient at drawing and wanted to become a naval architect. It is alleged that he was told, because of his interest in ships and his drawing ability, that he would be assigned to the Navy Bureau of Ships.

        His name appears in the 1942-43 Abraham Lincoln Roundup in the section devoted to the names of alumni who were in the armed forces as a gunner in the Navy.

        Keith B. Silva's name is on the list of World War II Deceased of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Personnel from California as a seaman second class. It is noted that he was killed in action on August 10, 1943. It is not known to which ship he was assigned, but he was killed in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Information contained in cemetery documentation notes that he was missing in action or buried at sea. He was awarded the Purple Heart Medal posthumously. His name is on the Memorial Tablet of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, Fort William McHenry, Manila, Philippine Islands.