From Dec. 7, 2009, Everett (Wa) Herald.
Jim Stansell of Bellingham, was a 17-year-old seaman first class on Dec, 7, 1941 aboard the USS Hull, a destroyer, and says he has met people who have never heard of Pearl Harbor (none of my students could say that as we spent 2-3 days talking about it).
On that day, he was getting ready to go to "church" which actually was meeting up with some friends on a beach, drinking beer and having laughs. He had duty that day and the only way to get off the ship was to sign up for church.
He was getting ready to meet with those friends when someone yelled, "We're being invaded." Running onto deck, he ducked as a Japanese bomber flying low passed over the ship so close "I could see his face."
Stansell ran to his battle station which was a sight-setter for a 5-inch gun. He was able to watch the entire attack from here.
He saw the USS Arizona blow up and the USS Utah starting to turn over with her crew scrambling off. All he could do was watch because his ship was in the harbor for repairs and tied up alongside the USS Dobbin which had cut the power to the Hull so none of the Hull's anti-aircraft guns could fire.
he cursed, "We were helpless, we couldn't do a damn thing. We couldn't do a damn thing but watch."
More to Come from this excellent article.
The Greatest Generation.
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