From the December 8, 2007 Honolulu Star Bulletin "Oklahoma gets memorial" by Gene Park.
Survivor George A. Smith did not recognize any of the names on the marble columns at the new USS Oklahoma Memorial.
At age 17, he had joined the navy only two months before Pearl Harbor was attacked and had just joined the crew. He was one of twenty Oklahoma survivors who attended the ceremony Dec. 7th.
He had just finished the 4-8 am watch on the starboard machine gun ten minutes earlier and had started heading for shore for food when he was ordered to his battle station.
"We thought, 'Oh great we're having drill now.' So, we took our time until the guy on the loudspeaker went, 'This is no (expletive) drill. Move it!'"
He was so new he didn't know how to fire the gun. Minutes later, the ship began to capsize and he went overboard and swam to Ford Island about where the monument stands.
A Day That Still Lives in Infamy. --
No comments:
Post a Comment