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There were untold numbers of Heroes that arose from the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the war that followed, most of which still go unheralded to this day. They were not superheroes or without human frailties, they were person (s) who took actions that they saw as right in moments of horrific and chaotic human acts of cruelty; such cruelty will never be understood by men of reason. This is the day to remember the brave men and women that you do not know, but whose acts have benefited your life in so many ways.
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Station Hospital, Hickam Field:
“I didn't even take that elevator and I ran up and said, This is War! This is the Japs! Downstairs everybody, now ... NOW! Elevator and all, get down. We didn't have the elevator for a short time, and most of us ran down anyway. Then about that time you can't hear the next person. It is just Irene and I, and Major Lane there. In the mean time they are bringing these patients in. On chairs, doors, anything ... arms off, legs off, bleeding, oh by god!”
PT Boat Commander:
“Anyone who has ever seen a high altitude bomber at 10,000 feet when it drops a bomb, no matter where you are standing, you look up and the bomb looks like it is going to land right between your eyes! The angle of decent is only about a half of degree. You run this way, and you run that way, and you still look up and the bomb is coming right at you! I tell you, that is the only time in my life when I was really scared.”
Receiving Station, Pearl Harbor:
“I came down the stairs to the ground, and looking up in the sky I saw a lot of planes dropping bombs that were coming down like it was rain. The planes that were dropping bombs were so high; all you could see was bombs dropping. The planes with torpedoes were flying in right over the main gate then down over the water, over what looked like a canal. They had a straight shot down to the ships.”
The “Lucky Lou”
He knew what a periscope looked like, since he built them! He was a Naval Constructor by trade! He shouted, “Periscope to Starboard!” Then he saw something worse, and yelled out, “Two Torpedoes to Starboard!” He knew they were two torpedoes when he saw the impulse bubbles rise to the surface. The St. Louis was doing approximately 20 knots now, in shallow water, with no room or speed to maneuver!
On shore housing:
“All military, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, report to your station. The Harbor is under attack!” Blared from the radio, “I knew now that we were at war,” Jackson said. Jackson, still in civilian clothes, with the only thing he would have to eat--a piece of toast thrust on him by his wife Betty, hanging from his mouth as he ran for the door. He did have his straw hat on, as per orders of Admiral Kimmel. The Admiral wanted all of his officers to look more gentlemanly, so when they were on leave or ashore, they were ordered to always wear a hat. The officers called their hats, “A Kimmel Topper!”
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Today, on December 7, 2008, the USS Arizona Survivors that participated in my book project are in Pearl Harbor. This morning at 7:55 am Hawaiian time they stood above that great ship as it still lies below, with it watery shape giving it a ghostly appearance, paying their final respects. This is the final visit by the survivors of the Arizona, as age catches up with us all. I cannot fathom the feelings, the emotions, and the thoughts that must have come to life behind those teary eyes, which are the portal to their souls. This all took place in the presence of the 1177 souls just beneath where they stood together as men of the Arizona, one more time, today.
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Henry Hill, Plum, Pennsylvania
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