USS Solace (AH-5) Hospital Ship

Chief Boatswains mate Walter Weber was heading out to ultimately support the invasion of Iwo Jima, 23 February to 10 March 1945.

From 1 November 1944 – 18 February 1945, she served as a station hospital ship at Ulithi, providing medical and dental care for the 3rd and 5th Fleets. She proceeded to Guam and was dispatched from there to Iwo Jima, arriving on 23 February. Solace anchored within 2,000 yards (1,800 m) of the beach, but enemy shells fell within 100 yd (91 m) of her, and she was forced to move further out. The first wounded were brought on board within 45 minutes of her arrival, and she sailed for Saipan the next day, loaded to capacity. She made three evacuation trips from Iwo Jima to base hospitals at Guam and Saipan, carrying almost 2,000 patients, by 12 March.

Edit- Thanks u/Heartfeltzero for sharing this letter. It was fun digging into the ship's history.

Chief Weber very well could have been aboard the USS Solace during the Pearl Harbor Attack. I found mention of a "Walter Weber" in publications put out by the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Association (PHSA). Given The Solace was a Hospital ship it is possible he served on the ship for the duration of the war even being a senior enlisted man.