All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor’s Firsthand Account of Pearl Harborĭuring the attack on Pearl Harbor, many men rose to the occasion to become heroes to those unable to help themselves. If your Pearl Harbor tour includes a stop at the USS Oklahoma Memorial, reading about Young’s experience will bring to vivid life what these sailors went through in their final moments. Trapped at Pearl Harbor details the dread the men felt watching the rising water inside the ship, and the suspense of waiting to be rescued. Young’s account of the hours he spent trapped inside USS Oklahoma is a unique view into what the survivors of the attack went through in the hours after the Japanese torpedoes struck. Among those nearly lost within the sinking battleship was Stephen Bower Young, a Seaman First Class who chronicled his experiences in Trapped at Pearl Harbor: Escape from Battleship Oklahoma.) As she started to capsize, crew members were trapped within her hull, trying to survive with limited air. USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was one of two battleships damaged beyond repair during the attack on Pearl Harbor. "I'm honouring them, not myself," he said.Trapped at Pearl Harbor, by Stephen Bower Young But Chavez said it's about the people who were lost. These days, many people treat Chavez and other Pearl Harbor survivors like celebrities, asking them for autographs and photos. "It seemed like I only slept about 10 minutes when she called me and said 'we're being attacked.' And I said 'who is going to attack us?' She said 'the Japanese are here and they're attacking everything,"' Chavez said. He told his wife not to wake him because he hadn't gotten any rest during the busy night. The sailors reported the sighting and Chavez went home to sleep. 7, I look out and spotted a submarine that wasn't supposed to be in that area," the 104-year-old Chavez said. He remembers noticing with his shipmates that a mysterious submarine was lurking off the harbour. Ray Chavez was out on a minesweeper, the USS Condor, in the early hours before the attack. "I thought that would give them more closure that just a cold note, 'your son was killed in action,"' said Downing, who also served as the ship's postmaster. Downing spent two hours fighting fires and checking the name tags of the dead so he could write their families personal notes about how they died. "They just instinctively did the right thing at the right time without any thought about their own lives or safety," he said. The tactic let the giant battleship slide into mud below. "We were sinking and everything above the water line was on fire," he said.ĭowning said he felt proud while watching sailors balance the capsizing ship by allowing water to seep in. His ship, the USS West Virginia, was hit by nine torpedoes. "We get together and have a great time and compare our stories," said Downing, a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Thousands of other servicemen and women and members of the public are expected to attend and watch via a livestream feed.ĭowning said he comes back to Hawaii for the anniversary commemorations to be with his shipmates. the same moment Japanese planes began their assault. Those who gather at the ceremony on a pier overlooking the harbour are expected to observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m. And with nowhere to hide, "I was afraid," he said.ĭowning plans to return to Pearl Harbor Wednesday with a few dozen other survivors to mark the 75th anniversary of the attack that plunged the United States into World War II and left more than 2,300 service people dead. The next aviator might have better aim, Downing remembers thinking. "When he got the right angle, he banked over, turned his machine-guns lose," Downing, now 103, said in an interview at a Waikiki hotel, "But fortunately he didn't bank far enough so it went right over my head." Then a newlywed sailor, he recalled a Japanese plane flying low and slow in his direction as he rushed to his battleship from his home after hearing explosions and learning of the attack on the radio. PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Surprise, fear, anger and pride overcame Jim Downing as Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor.
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