Charles Sellentin was in the US Coast Guard that day on board the USS Taney in its engine room when General Quarters sounded. There had been so many drills that he figured it was just another one until someone rushed down the stairs yelling that this was no drill.
Rushing topside, he could see the Japanese planes coming in so low he could see the faces of the pilots. He went to his battle station under the bridge coordinating damage control personnel.
It usually would take the Taney four hours to get steam up, but this day that was accomplished in just one hour. It wasn't until 0400 the next morning that the captain got back on board and the ship was ordered to help the USS Ward looking for subs outside the harbor.
The Taney dropped so many depth charges on suspected targets that they had to be resupplied. Later in the war, he transferred to the USS Scott, a troopship operating in the Pacific.
Just Some More of the Stories We Will be Losing Before Long. --DaCoot
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