The five Waterloo brothers who served — and died — together aboard the USS Juneau in World War II.
George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, enlisted in the Navy together after Pearl Harbor, on the condition that they serve on the same ship. All five were assigned to the light cruiser USS Juneau.
On November 13, 1942, the Juneau was sunk during the naval battle of Guadalcanal, and all five brothers died. Their loss — one of the greatest military sacrifices by a single American family — shocked the nation.
The brothers' deaths led the U.S. military to adopt the Sole Survivor Policy, protecting families from losing all their sons. Two Navy destroyers have been named USS The Sullivans, and Waterloo honors them at the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum.
Their story inspired films and remains a symbol of wartime sacrifice.
The five Waterloo brothers who served — and died — together aboard the USS Juneau in World War II.
The Sullivan brothers was from Waterloo, Iowa.
1942.
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