George Brown of Henderson, Ky, was at the Dec. 7, 2007 ceremoney to dedicate the USS Oklahoma Memorial. The $1.2 million memorial consisting of 429 white columns, each 7 feet tall and 120 pounds represent each of the crewmembers who died that day.
The portside of the Oklahoma was ripped open 250 feet and within 20 minutes it rolled over and sank.
Brown's life was saved "by the Grace of God" and the fact that at 5'4' and 100 pounds, he was small. He had just finished writing a letter to his mom when, "I heard general quarters. Naturally, I hurried to my battle station. I got there and got set up. I wasn't there ten minutes and I felt a torpedo hit, andd then another one, and when the fourth one hit, it hit 20 to 30 feet from where I was.
At the time, Brown was a 20 year old ship's cook and was in the belly of the Oklahoma. "The lights went out, the speakers went out, and they would come back on a few minutes at a time. There was an armored hatch right over us. The damage control party had gone through and they left the hatch because they couldn't close it all the way or couldn't open it."
To Be Continued... Cooter
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