December 7, 1941: A Personal Account from Pearl Harbor

The load alarm rang waking me from my sleep. The clock read 7:45 on December 7, 1941. It was a Sunday, so it was getting ready for church. Today was my day off, which on work days I work on the USS Tennessee as a engineer. My job is to supervise and make sure the engines are running smoothly. I have been been working on her for many months on the Southern side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. I am stationed at a U.S. naval base named Pearl Harbor. I stepped out of my quarters to admire the ships around me called “Battleship Row.” It contains eight large, powerful battleships. Just ahead of the USS Tennessee is the USS Maryland directly behind is the USS Arizona. The USS Tennessee was a beauty, which is why I loved working on it. The glorious ship has a length of 624 feet and it travels at 21 knots. She was tied to her mooring next to a quay. I was ready to go to church and have a nice relaxing day.

Church was at 8:00 at I still had five minutes.

I was walking thinking about what I was gonna eat for breakfast when a large dark shadow flies over the ship. Before I can comprehend was going on, a explosion hit the USS Arizona directly behind us. I see many bombs hitting the Arizona and it suddenly becomes engulfed in flames. The ship burns and finally sinks to the floor of the ocean. The men on my ship sat there and tried to understand what had happened. I knew something was not right and I was very scared. I hear Admiral Kimmel, who is in charge of the base, send out a dispatch. He said, “AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” I became full of fear. Then, comes flying in a bomb directly hitting Turret III, and I thought my life was coming to an

end.
I was ready to fear the worse. I thought everything was over, but nothing had happened. Finally, I got courage and looked back at the bomb. It didn't explode, but sent large fragments everywhere. It just ignited and burned, but the fire was quickly extinguished. It was a very close call, but I knew this was not over. Suddenly, the second bomb comes down and hits Turret II. Unlike the first one, it exploded and the fragments sprayed the superstructure. I was still alive, but the turret was not as fortunate as I was. I had much adrenaline running through me. Men, that were gunners, ran past me and quickly reached their anti-craft guns. They started shooting, and I realized that they were shooting at aircrafts. I wondered who would wanna do this and why.
The yells of people of the other ships were muffled by the loud explosions. I also wasn't sure if more bombs were coming. Suddenly, I see a large fire at the stern section of the ship. It was from the oil of the former USS Arizona. Luckily, the fire was not enough to do devastating damage to the ship. The ship was hit by two bombs and an oil fire, but it was still afloat, at least for now. It created a great black smoke, and I could barely see anywhere past the ship. I realized that I must do my job and check on the engine.
I started to make my way to the engine room. I saw many panicked men running past me, but we were still firing, and the ship looked in decent shape. I didn't know if the other ships around us were okay or not. I finally made it to the engine room and check if the ship is still operational. The engine was still good, so why haven't we tried to get out of here? I make my way up to the deck, and realize why we haven't left yet. The sinking USS West Virginia had wedged our ship between two massive concrete quays. There was no way we were getting unstuck anytime soon.
The fire still raged on. Luckily, I see rescue boats. I get on the ship with many other fearful men. We travel past all the wreckage and around the black smoke. While looking at the disaster I realize how many men probably have lost their lives. I knew I was very lucky to be alive, and I had a second chance at life. We finally reached land and made our way to an air station for safety. I still didn't feel very safe, though. It sounded like the worse was over and there was no more attacks. The clock at the air station read 9:45 a.m.
We sat in silence in the air station for many hours still trying to understand what happened and why. Suddenly, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt voice comes through on a nearby radio. He started by saying, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” We were all shocked by the news that Japan had did this to us. He goes on to explain that they attacked because they we tired of negotiations with the United States, and they wanted to launch a surprise attack in attempt to destroy the U.S. naval power before an official announcement for war was given, Everyone sat there in silence, processing what we just heard. I realized that we were entering long, devastating war.