Continuing with the story from April 14th. Oklahoma survivor George Brown.
"If was hydraulic operated. I saw that it was open. I told the guys in there, 'You guys can stay in here if you want to, but I'm getting the hell out of here!'
"So I got over there and there on the ladder you have to wiggle yourself around because you had a space where maybe it opened about 12 inches. Squeezed up through there, so it's good to be short, slim and agile....I got through there."
But a lot of the cooks couldn't fit through the small space. Brown swam halfway across the oil-covered bay before being pulled up by a rescue boat.
He served the rest of the war on the USS Worden, a destroyer, and was at both the Battle of Coral Sea and Midway. He became a career Navy man and also served in the Korean War. From 1957-1961 he lived in Henderson, Ky., and was in charge of Naval recruiting in the Owensboro area.
His wife Alice grew up in Hawaii where they now live and can see Pearl Harbor from their house.
THE OKLAHOMA MEMORIAL
The Memorial has the names of all 429 shipmates engraved in granite who died that day. In George's words, "That was the most horrible scene you can ever think of. Shipmates there and you can't help them."
It was made possible by donations from Oklahoma corporations, foundations and residents.
Oklahoma survivor Paul Goodyear, Oklahoma Senator Jim Reynolds and graphic artist Kevin King spearheaded efforts to get the memorial.
Of interest, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor that day was from Henderson, Kentucky.
Today, there are fewer than 100 Oklahoma survivors ranging in age from mid-80s to 94.
Well-Desreved, Albeit Later Than it Should Have Been. --Old Coot
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