Source: United States Navy
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii — On October 17, 1916, Woodrow Wilson was president and the average pay for an ensign in the Navy was $141.67 per month. The world was embroiled in World War I and the United States was preparing for the reality of having to join the bloody battle. The same year, USS Arizona (BB-39) was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.