December 7, 1941

[herr_oberst]

At 8 AM, the military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked.

2403 American lives lost that day
418,500 Americans perished by the end of WWII

[Baz]

Thank you for the remembrance, Herr Oberst.

Rest in Peace to all lost.

[Sooner or later]

God Bless

[Seahawk]

This is the moment, captured on film, that stays with me:



I don't think people understand how small Pearl Harbor is. I have been to Ford Island many times and tied up on the ship I was detached on.

I have flown, been in that exact air space and orientation and forgot to take a picture. Idiot.

My Great Uncles were Navy Chiefs at the time, my mothers father, who owned an electrical repair shop in Oakland, became a Warrant Officer in the Navy and served throughout the Pacific. He was 41.

This is a cherished day for me: all four Quatro men served and all survived...every one of them funny and smart, tenacious with laughter and fight.

They are why I became a Navy pilot. Beautiful men.

[pwd72s]

A sleeping Giant was awakened...

[Racerbvd]

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by Baz

Thank you for the remembrance, Herr Oberst.

Rest in Peace to all lost.

RIP - I was on the monument over the Arizona in 2004 and I can attest to the ominous feeling for the loss of life there.

[Eric Hahl]

And the World was forever changed. Such a different world we live in today.

[Scott Douglas]

Please pardon my ignorance and laziness.
Is this battle ship row? (circled in red)

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Please pardon my ignorance and laziness.
Is this battle ship row? (circled in red)

Scott, those are the Cruisers Detroit and Raleigh, and the old battleship Utah.
Battleship Row is in the center of the photo, where the West Virginia has just been hit with a torpedo.

[Jon B]

[Baz]

My Dad was on the USS Helena (seen in the above image by Jon) when the attack happened. I have posted his type written account here before and will again if anyone cares to see it.

[Baz]

My Dad's account:

December 7, 1941

On the morning of December 7, 1941, I awoke at 5:30 and prepared to relieve the watch at 6:30. I relieved the watch at 6:15 and after clearing a few routine matters by 7:00 I began writing a letter home. At 7:05 a message came over a receiver here in the Communication stating that one of our destroyers operating an inner coastal patrol had encountered an unknown submarine and dropped six depth charges upon it. Results of this encounter were unknown. At precisely 8:03, I heard a terrific explosion and the sound of diving airplanes overhead. Thinking that the explosion was blasting and the planes our own in a sham battle, I continued writing. Immediately after the first explosion followed a half dozen more. At this time I grew suspicious and walked over to the window and upon glancing out over the bay I was surprised to see great billows of black smoke rising and flame intermingling. At this time (approximately 8:15) I saw a plane come hurtling down over the Naval Air Station and a huge bomb dropped out of its bomb racks and went hurtling down to spread destruction.

I was shocked, horrified, amazed, and all the rest of the similar adjectives, to see a "Rising Sun" on the fuselage and wing tips of the plane. I then looked toward the Army Air Field and saw approx. two squadrons of Jap planes circling around and around the field much as vultures circle a wounded man, unmolested. These planes were very much intent upon destroying the entire field. Every so often one of them came hurtling down, dropped his bomb, strafed personnel and then did a wing-over and gained altitude. I might say that these planes were strafing the entire Navy yard also. Occasional anti-aircraft fire interrupted the explosions and machine gun fire. Incidentally I have never heard anything before that sounded such as the machine guns on the Jap planes. They sounded like large firecrackers and the sound was, to say the least, “Nervewracking”. At this time came an hour lull in the great battle of “Pearl Harbor.”

At 10:15 over they came again. This time a bit higher and more cautious because of the terrific barrage being laid up by the various ships in the harbor and the shore batteries at the Navy Yard. The U.S.S. Helena reputedly sent up the best barrage in the fleet, and was credited with at least five planes. However she sustained a direct torpedo hit amidships and was unable to maneuver immediately.

When the smoke of battle cleared away and the Japs took to their heels, the following was ascertained: The Oklahoma capsized, the Arizona blew up and two other large battleships were damaged, although to what extent is not known.

The Japanese evidentially intended the U. S. Navy to be annihilated, the civilian populace, terrorized and the Army taken by force. However the best laid planes of mice and men often go awry and such was the case of the Japanese War Lords.

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Baz

My Dad's account...

Thank you for re-posting this, I hadn't read it before.
The Brooklyn-class light cruiser USS Helena... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Helena_(CL-50)

[Scott Douglas]

Just trying to get a perspective of where that photo is taken from.
I think the red arrow is 'close'.

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Just trying to get a perspective of where that photo is taken from.
I think the red arrow is 'close'.

Yes, after the Curtiss had left it's position in the illustration.
The photo was taken from a Japanese plane- notice the calligraphy along the bottom.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by Jon B

Yes, after the Curtiss had left it's position in the illustration.
The photo was taken from a Japanese plane- notice the calligraphy along the bottom.

Yes, I realized that Jon. Thanks for posting the chart.
Baz - Thanks for reposting your Dad's letter.
My dad was at D-Day as a 19 yr-old.

[herr_oberst]

Great letter, Barry. Thank you

[abisel]

It may not be known by many, but there is another memorial at Ford Island. The USS Utah located on the opposite side of the island.

[Jims5543]

I had a unique opportunity this past Thursday while working.

I was walking down a residential street with my GPS Surveying unit on my shoulder when an older fellow walked down his driveway to ask what Inwas doing.

I was behind schedule and was trying to hustle through this job in order to drive another 30 minutes away from my office to another job. Yeah, I was in a hurry. Until I started talking to this old guy.

He asked what I was up to, I told him, sensing he was lonely.

He then asked me to guess his age. I guessed 27, he laughed. After a few guesses he tells me he is 92 years old.

He proudly exclaims he fought in 2 wars, ww2 and Korea.

He explains he joined the Navy at 16 years old lying about his age.

I said to him, "please, tell me some stories. It is becoming a rare day when you can speak to a ww2 vet."

We chatted for about 45 minutes, I knew I was in a rush, the moment he said he was a ww2 vet I knew the rest of my day did not matter.

I hope to stop by again in a couple of weeks and visit George again. It was an honor to hear his stories.

The greatest generation indeed.

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