81st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Herbert Jacobson-- Part 6

Brad McDonald and several relatives met with experts a couple times through the years and donated DNA samples to help with the investigation to identify his uncle, Herbert Jacobson.

In 2018, he was told, "We're going to do our best, but chances are we aren't going to be able to identify then [the remains] in your time and maybe into your children's time."

"Less than a year later, I got a phone call saying, 'We got 'em,' " Brad McDonald remembered.  "I was just blown away.  I really was.  We are just extremely grateful to the Navy and all the agencies working on this.  ...They did this painstaking process, and it was amazing."

Continued in my Tattooed On Your Soul:  World War II blog.

Mount Diablo Relit for Veterans Day-- Part 3

Continued from my Tattooed on Your Soul: WW II and Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blogs.

"When the Beacon light is turned on, that's a tribute to those individuals who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor," stated  Pearl Harbor Survivor Earl "Chuck" Kohler.

The Beacon is owned by California State Parks, but maintained by Save Mount Diablo, is one of the last remaining working beacons from the transcontinental string of guides.

However, its future remained undertain until the beacon's restoration in 2013,  when California Assembly Member Joan Buchanan wrote and helped pass legislation to assist the nonprofit in achieving their restoration goal.

The DPAA Identifies Five MIA/POW Service Members from the Korean War and World War II

From the Novemeber 2, 2022, Stars and Stripes.

The Defense Department's  Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has recently identified five missing servicemen, three from Pearl Harbor in World War II and two from the Korean War.

Both Korean War soldiers  -- Sgt.  Howard Malcom, 23, and Sgt.  Allen Tuttle, 23--  had been unaccounted for since December 1950 and died in the same POW camp, according to the DPAA.

Malcom, who died in  August 1951, was accounted for on October  25.

Tuttle, who died  in March 1951,  was identified  on October 26.

You can go to my Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blog to read about the Pearl Harbor sailors who were identified.

Adm. David W. Bagley-- Part 6: Service During WW II

On April 4, 1942, Rear Admiral Bagley relieved Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch as Commandant, 14th Naval District (headquartered at Pearl Harbor) and  Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier.  He served in that capacity until January 1943.  On February 1,  he assumed command of the Western Sea Frontier  (Sea Defense of the West Coast of the United States), and on March 30, 1943, had the duty of Commandant 11th Naval District (Great Lakes Training Facility in Illinois).

He held the 11th Naval District position until January 1944 and continued to head the Western Sea Frontier until the following fall.

Promoted to  vice admiral to date from February 1, 1944, he was relieved of that duty on November 17, 1944.  Eleven days later, he returned to Oahu and resumed duty as Commandant 14th Naval District and served in that position until July 25, 1945.

On August 20, he reported for duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and served on the International Defense Board, the United States-Mexican Defense  Commission and the Permanent Joint Board of Defense.

Quite a Busy Time for the Admiral.  --Cooter

Admiral David W. Bagley-- Part 5: Commander Battleship Division 2, Based in Pearl Harbor

In May 1935,orders were sent to Bagley in Newport, Rhode Island, to attend the Naval War College.  Upon completing his senior course, he remained there as a staff member.  Next came duty as Commander, Destroyer Squadron 20, Destroyers, Scouting Fleet.  

From July 1937 to May 1938, he served as Commander, Minecraft, Battle Force.  While in that position, he was promoted to flag rank, to date from April 1, 1938.  In May of that year, now Rear Admiral David W. Bagley, began a 32-month tour of duty as Commandant, Mare Island Navy Yard on the West Coast.

At the beginning of 1941, he broke his flag on the USS Tennessee (BB-43), as Commander, Battleship Division 2.  And they were based at a little-known to many Americans, island base  out in the Pacific Ocean called Pearl Harbor.

--Cooter

101-Year-Old USS Oklahoma Survivor Returns for 80th "Let 'Em Puff the Cigarettes'

I will be writing about Pearl Harbor in seven of my eight blogs today.  This story began in my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog and my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog.

After the attack, David Russell, 101, and two others went to Ford Island in search for a bathroom.  While there,  they found a dispensary and  enlisted quarters that had been turned into  a triage center and a place  of refuge for hundreds of wounded.  They found  horribly burned sailors lining the walls. Many would die in the hours an d days ahead.

"Most of them wanted a cigarette, and I didn't smoke at the time, but, I got a pack of cigarettes and some matches.  I lit their cigarettes for them," said Russell.  "You feel for these guys, but I couldn't do anything.  Just light a cigarette for 'em and let 'em puff the cigarettes."

Russell still thinks about how lucky he was.  He ponders why he decided to go topside on the Oklahoma, knowing that most of the men who remained behind likely were unable to get out after the hatch was closed.

In the first two days after the attack, a civilian crew from the shipyard rescued 32 men trapped  inside the ship by cutting holes in its upturned hull.  But the rest perished.  Most of those who died in the Oklahoma were buried anonymously in Honolulu graves and listed as unknowns because their remains were too degraded  to be identified by the time they were removed from the ship between 1942 and 1943.

--GreGen

Ten Coincidences That Helped Shape U.S. History

From the June 28, 2018, ListVerse by Christopher Dale.

I'm just listing them.  You can get the facts and a picture at the site.

10.  The fortuitous fog  that saved Washington's Army during the Revolution.  (I  wrote about this in this blog May 17 and 18.)

9.  Sacagawea with Lewis & Clark Expedition.

8.  Making it 90 feet between bases in baseball.

7.  The "Lost Company" at the Battle of Gettysburg.  (I wrote about this in my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog on May 16.)

6.  Our three aircraft carriers weren't home at Pearl Harbor during the attack.  

5.  The accidental invention of the microwave.

4.  Lee Harvey Oswald had tried to kill  Major General Edwin Walker seven months later, but failed.

3.  The confusing ballot that skewed the 2000 election.

2.  The ill-timed financial  crisis that hurt McCain's presidential run in 2008.

1.  The inglorious return of Carlos Danger.

--Cooter

U.S. Warships: USS Bowfin (SS-287)-- Part 2

Picture of the museum ship USS Bowfin taken on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The Bowfin was not there at the time, but was launched exactly one year after the attack, December 7, 1942.

The crew of the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN-776) man the rails aboard World War II museum ship USS Bowfin (SS-287) to shoot a spirit spot for FOX Sports to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

FOX Sports is returning to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to telecast four college basketball games live on December 6 and December 7.

Participants include the University of Hawai'i, University of California, Princeton University and Seton Hall University.

--Cooter

U.S. Warships: USS Bowfin, Pearl Harbor Museum Ship

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America April 2021 calendar.

This is a museum ship located in Pearl Harbor by the USS Arizona Museum.

************************************

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

BUILDER:  Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

LAUNCHED:  December 7, 1942

HOMEPORT:  Honolulu, Hawaii

DISPLACEMENT:  Approximately 1,525 tons (surface), 2,412 tons (submerged)

LENGTH:  312 feet

CREW:  63 enlisted, 7 officers

ARMAMENT:  Ten 21" torpedo tubes (6 forward, 4 aft)

24 torpedoes

One 5" /.25 caliber deck gun, plus various combinations of antiaircraft guns.

--Cooter

Two More USS Oklahoma (Pearl Harbor) Unknowns Identified

From the December 5, 2020, Lexington (Nebraska) Clipper Herald.

In 2015, the decision was made to disinter the remains of the USS Oklahoma Unknowns and use DNA to identify those buried in the mass communal graves.  So far, 242 have been identified, but not Ray Pentica (see today's post in the Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog).

One of those found was Grant Cook, Jr. of Cozad, Nebraska.  In fact, 22 of the sailors and Marines who died on the Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, were from Nebraska.

Remains of the Oklahoma's Unknowns continue to be identified.  Just  this past November 24, two brothers who died on the ship, Harold Trapp and William Trapp were accounted for through DNA testing.

--Pearl Harbor

USS Oregon (BB-3)-- Part 5: Served in World War II

In 1941, as war with Japan looked likely, the Oregon was redesignated  IX-22 in February and after Pearl Harbor, it was decided that the best thing for the ship would be to be broken up for scrap.  She was struck from the Naval Registry on 2 November 1942 and was sold to ship  breakers on 7 December.  

In March 1943, she was towed to Kalama, Washington to be broken up, but after the work was begun, the Navy  decided that the Oregon could be of use in the planned invasion of  Guam scheduled for mid-1944, either as a storage hulk or a breakwater.

The breakers were ordered to stop after clearing the superstructure and internal equipment was removed.  The Oregon was then loaded with ammunition and towed to Guam as part of the invasion fleet.

After capture of that island, the Oregon remained through the end of the war in 1945 and for several more years after that.  On the night of 14-15 November 1948, the ship broke free of her moorings during a typhoon and drifted away.  After an extensive search, aircraft located the ship some 580 miles southeast of Guam.

It was then towed back to Guam and remained there until 1956 and she was sold for scrap and broken up in Japan.

Several parts of the ship remain in Portland.  Her foremast was placed at Tom McCall Waterfront Park and her ship's wheel is at the Oregon Historical Society.  Both of her funnels also remain but are not on public display.

--Cooter

We Spent the Next Week in Class Studying About 9-11 and Events As They Unfolded

I not only stopped my lesson plans for September 1, but continued doing so for the next week.  I told my students this was going to be their Pearl Harbor or JFK assassination.

We located Israel, the Arab countries of the Middle East as well as Washington, D.C., New York City and Pennsylvania, all major parts of 9-11.

I then started talking about world events that led up to what happened.

My seventh graders then began writing a 500-word essay on their own experience on 9-11.  You can't get any closer to history than when you write about something you have actually experienced.

I retired in 2006, but every one of my classes after 2001 had to write a 500-word essay on their experiences from that day.  They could also include what happened to the rest of their relatives on that day.

Lauren Bruner Will Be the 44th and Final Crew Member Interred on the USS Arizona

From the December 6, 2019, Concord Monitor "California man will be then 44th and final crew member interred on the USS Arizona" by Audrey McAvoy, AP.

On December 7, 1941, the then 21-year-old Lauren Bruner was the second-to-last man to leave his stricken ship, the USS Arizona.  He lived to be 98, married twice and outlived both wives.

This weekend, divers will place Bruner's ashes inside the wreckage of the USS Arizona.  He will be the 44th and last Arizona crew man to be placed on the ship as the other three Arizona survivors still alive have opted to be buried with their families.

Bruner said he wants to be buried at the Arizona as few people go to cemeteries and millions visit the Memorial.  Plus, he wants to be with old friends who never made it off the ship.

The Navy began interring survivors on their old ships in 1982, but there are only two ships from Pearl harbor still there, the Arizona and USS Utah.  The other ships there that day were repaired and put back into service except for the USS Oklahoma.

Remembering Pearl Harbor on 78th Anniversary of the Attack

These are some headlines in newspapers around the country.

**  Pearl Harbor veteran is now the last survivor living in Butte County.

**  Pearl Harbor anniversary to be marked with events in Tucson and Hawaii.

**  Editorial:  How could Pearl Harbor be forgotten.

**  California man will be the 44th and final crew member interred in the USS Arizona.

**  78 years later, efforts continue to ID Pearl Harbor service members.

**  Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day:  Three local sailors were stationed on Battleship Row.

**  World War II veteran recalls Pearl Harbor attack.

USS Grebe (AM-43)-- Part 1: World War I Mines in the North Sea

In my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog, I recently wrote about the USS Grebe, which towed and served as the tender for the famed War of 1812 warship, USS Constitution on its 1931-1932 National Cruise to U.S.ports after it was restored.

I looked the ship up in Wikipedia and found this ship had quite an interesting and varied history.

USS GREBE

It was 187-foot long Lapwing-class minesweeper launched 17 December 1918 and served in many capacities until destroyed by a hurricane in 1943.  It was commissioned 1 May 1919 and from July to October of that year, participated in the clearing of the North Sea mines from WW I.

From then until 1921, she did a variety of jobs, including rescuing 139 passengers from the SS Mormugao on April 29.  (The SS Mormugao was a Portuguese ship which ran ashore off Block Island, Rhode Island. Her passengers were taken off and the ship was refloated on May 2.)

--Cooter

Pearl Harbor Survivors

Today is the 77th anniversary of the attack which plunged the United States into World War II.  Usually, when I write about a Pearl Harbor survivor, it is to report his death.  I am always happy to write about one who sis still alive.

From the November 16, 2018, Desert Star  "Clarence Lux celebrates with fellow vets" by Jene Estrada.

Mr. Lux was celebrating his 98th birthday.

He enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and was on the USS Tennessee on that day.  He was discharged in 1946 as a petty officer.

He is one of three Pearl Harbor survivors still left in the area.  The others are Jim Donis of Palm Desert who was in the Army Air Corps and Ed Wise.

USS Detroit-- Part 3: Spanish-American War and WW II

**  The third USS Detroit (C-10) was a Montgomery-class cruiser that operated 1893-1904.  Its class was one of the poorest ever designed for the U.S. Navy.  It fought in the Spanish-American War and was scrapped after decommissioning in 1904.

**  The fourth USS Detroit (CL-8) was an Omaha-class light cruiser (1923-1946).  It was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and one of the few ships to get underway.  During World War II it earned six Battle Stars.

It was moored alongside the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered in 1945.  So, it was one of the few ships that was present at the beginning of the war for the United States and the end.

**  The fifth USS Detroit (AOE-4) was a fast combat support ship (1970-2005).

--Detrer

Some More Famous U.S. Warships Built at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Yesterday, I wrote about some of the ships built at this famous navy yard.  Here are a few more:

Fulton--  Robert Fulton's steam frigate launched in 1815.

USS Ohio--  Launched 1820, ship-of-the-line

USS North Carolina--  battleship  (My favorite battleship).

USS Iowa--  battleship

USS California--  battleship at Pearl Harbor

--BattleCoot

Warning Signs On the Road to Pearl Harbor-- Part 2: Interim Years and Japanese Expansion

1931:  September 18:  Japan invades Manchuria and sets up a puppet regime.

1936, February 26:  Military extremists fail to overthrow the Japanese government, which had struggled with the country's failing economy since the implosion of world markets.

Military officers and conservatives press for aggressive expansion in Asia as a Japanese right.

November 25:  Japan and Germany sign Anti-Comintern Pact as an alliance against the Soviet Union.

This will be continued on today's Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog.  All of my blogs today will be about Pearl Harbor.

--DaCoot

Warning Signs On the Road to Pearl Harbor-- Part 1: World War I

From the December 7, 2016, USA Today.

1905:  Japan defeats Russia in the Russo-Japanese War and becomes a world power.

1910:  Japan annexes Korea and begins eyeing China and other Asian nations as sources of oil, coal, iron and other materials.

1914:  Japan joins Russia, Britain and France against Germany in World War I.  It expands its influence by taking German territories in the Pacific.

1917:

April 6:  U.S. enters World War I.

November 2:  U.S. signs pact with Japan to ease tense relations.

--Cooter