Paul Blaney Harper was born on February 3, 1924 in Mansfield, Sebastian Co., Ar to George Roy Harper and his second wife Mary Mikus Harper. On 30 Jun 1942 Paul registered with the WWII military draft at Mansfield, Sebastian, Ar. Paul Blaney Harper enlisted in the United States Navy. Harper had the rank of Petty Officer Third Class. His military occupation or specialty was Machinist's Mate Third Class. He was attached to "USS Herring" (SS-233) as a Torpedoman 3rd class. The submarine was sunk on 1 June 1944. Herring's exact manner of loss can also be determined from these records. Two more merchant ships, Hiburi Maru and Iwaki Maru, were sunk while at anchor in Matsuwa Island on the morning of 1 June 1944. In a counter-attack, enemy shore batteries scored two direct hits on the submarine's conning tower and "bubbles covered an area about 5 meters wide, and heavy oil covered an area of approximately 15 miles." by gunfire from shore batteries near Point Tagan, Matsuwa Island, Kuriles, Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Petty Officer Third Class Paul Blaney Harper is memorialized at Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.