On December 7th, 1941, it was a peaceful Sunday, the United States Pacific fleet was at rest...
Ashore Church services were underway, while back on battleship row, Naval personnel were preparing to raise flags and perform ceremonies. All was peaceful and quiet until about 7:45am when the drone of planes could be heard growing ever louder. Many eyes were cast skyward, but the buzz of so many aircraft didn't alert the personnel on the ground, just caused most to question "Why the hell is the army flying drills on a Sunday???"
Within minutes, however, "...at 7:55am hell broke loose, man-made hell...made in Japan"
Japanese bomber planes flew in precision towards the airfields of Ford Island, at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows field. Planes that were lined up for protection against possible sabotage were like ducks in a shooting gallery. Along battleship row, the big guns of the United States Pacific fleet were capped, silent, and asleep as torpedo after torpedo were let loose in the shallow water. Within minutes the battleship Oklahoma and Tennesee were bracketed by several bombs and torpedoes. The U.S.S. Oklahoma was a prime target for the bombers, and she rolled upside-down following almost a dozen torpedo hits.....trapping hundreds of sailors inside.
The greatest death blow came to the U.S.S. Arizona, the flagship of the United States Pacific fleet. Almost immediately following the bombing, Arizona rang General Quarters and the crew snapped into action. Her guns were raised and many of the crew began to fight back. Arizona was struck by a bomb near her stern which caused minor damage, however, high above the ship, at 8:06am, a bomber let lose a bomb made from a converted battleship shell and it landed directly onto the Arizonas forward deck near gun-turret #2. The bomb penetrated deep into the ships hull and landed amidst the ships ammunition locker where all the shells, tnt, and gunpowder were stored.
The explosion was terrific, the massive battleship heeled her back, the bow rose up out of the water, the deck hinged, men's eyes widened in horror, and all in a single instant.... the U.S.S. Arizona was blown in half. As she settled into the bottom mud of Pearl Harbor she took with her 1,177 men out of her 1,512 crew and soldiers stationed onboard.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor persisted for well into the morning, stopping sometime after 9am. In all the United States shot down 29 Japanese planes, and sank 5 midget-type submarines. The statistics were clear, however, on who the REAL victor of the day was...
The Imperial Japanese forces had decimated the American forces in Pearl Harbor...
Over 2,400 Americans were killed, at least 1,104 wounded., with every battleship in the Pacific fleet being either sunk or critically damaged. Hundreds of planes had been hit, and 75 percent of the planes and their airfields surrounding Pearl Harbor were damaged or destroyed outright.
The attack which occurred on this date 80yrs ago has sadly begun to slip from the minds of many, and though there are survivors and veterans who remain, they are few and soon....VERY SOON.... Pearl Harbor will fade from human memory to become little more than a passing moment in history, a legacy, that we'd do well to REMEMBER lest we repeat the same mistakes that led up to it.
On this DECEMBER 7th, 'I' REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR!
The event spurred my Grandfather, and many other Fathers, Grandfathers, Brothers, Uncles, And Loved ones to enlist and put a stop to the madness which had swept the world. For many, THIS EVENT was the trigger... and until the events of September 11th, 2001, it was never to be touched for loss of life, and the shock it created.
"Pearl Harbor-Tired And Futile As the Arizona Burns" - by Tom Freeman
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