Flyingfortress Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 To those we lost and those who still survive today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hal Marshman Sr Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Amen to that. Hal Sr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B-17fan Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 My mother-in-law wore this pin when she was a young girl in Sedalia, Missouri. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nightiemission Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Amen! It's a shame that some are forgetting. Terry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) I'm in the middle of the USS Arizona reunion right now. Only one of the 13 survivors was well enough to attend, and even he is in a wheelchair most of the time. He's one of the miracles who had 70% of the skin burned off his body as he escaped from the forward mast after the magazines blew. As we settled down for a lunch together, the server noticed our nametags, hats, etc and was asking what it meant. "How well is your history?" she was asked. "It's from Pearl Harbor," we hinted. "Oh!" she said with sudden realization. "USS Arizona...wait...THAT'S the ship that LOST World War ONE for us, isn't it?" ...she was in the WRONG crowd to make that mistake with! I still must say, EVERY reunion I attend is a life's dream come true. Edited December 8, 2012 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wolfgun33 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I'm in the middle of the USS Arizona reunion right now. Only one of the 13 survivors was well enough to attend, and even he is in a wheelchair most of the time. He's one of the miracles who had 70% of the skin burned off his body as he escaped from the forward mast after the magazines blew. As we settled down for a lunch together, the server noticed our nametags, hats, etc and was asking what it meant. "How well is your history?" she was asked. "It's from Pearl Harbor," we hinted. "Oh!" she said with sudden realization. "USS Arizona...wait...THAT'S the ship that lost World War ONE for us, isn't it?" :doh:/> ...she was in the WRONG crowd to make that mistake with! I still must say, EVERY reunion I attend is a life's dream come true. Man that's just messed up. How ignorant can you be? Wait, don't answer that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Was the survivor Don Stratton? You are truly lucky to meet those guys, I wish I would have had the chance. I've been lucky enough to pull into Pearl 4 times, and each time I volunteered to man the rails as we passed Arizona, and it was always an experience. Visiting the Ship has always been a moving experience for me too. I always felt it was a shame most people forget Utah is on the other side of Ford Island. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) Close; Don couldn't make it this year, as his wife's pretty sick. This was Lauren Bruner, who was training Don at the time and was 2 years his senior. Fantastic guess, though, especially seeing as they both escaped the same battle station the same way (hand over hand down a line to the USS Vestal). They both sustained about the same amount of 3rd degree burns, but Don was released from service; Lauren was retained and reassigned to a destroyer 7-8 months later. The reason? His 2 years seniority over Don meant he was already a qualified Fire Control 3rd class, which was a skill desperately needed in 1941-2 (Lauren told me yesterday that he had been told he was needed because too many FC's had been killed already; that news didn't exactly encourage him). Actually Don's doing pretty well, considering. Never seen him in a wheelchair yet. Strange thing is, even as badly as he was burned and even disabled, he later went to a friend on the draft board to get him back in again. Edited December 8, 2012 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 That's truly fantastic. US Navy history is a passion of mine for obvious reasons. Two of my favorite things to study from Pearl are the USS Shaw, and Chief Watertender Peter Tomich on the Utah. I think my most memorable time there was in 2006 when we pulled in during RIMPAC over the 4th of July weekend for 6 days. We got to watch the fireworks display over Ford Island and share the experience with sailors from 20 some other Nations. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Man, that sounds amazing. I've only been there twice, but both times it was on December 7th ('06 & '08) with the survivors and their families. Both times the memorial had been shut down so we could hold a private internment ceremony (placing the ashes of a survivor from the ship into the wreck). I feel like the luckiest guy in the world sometimes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) I just wish I had the opportunity to meet shipmates from Arizona. Those guys lived through and fought past more than I could ever imagine having to deal with. I have some great photos of Arizona from the flight deck of the Lincoln, and of Lincoln from the Visitors Center and Memorial. I think the most hollowing moments in my Naval career are pulling into Pearl, passing Hospital Point and the Nevada marker, all the quays on Battleship Row, Missouri, and Arizona. Then getting to walk around the Naval Station, the Sub base on Quarry Point is pretty cool. Give me a little bit and I can take some photos of photos and post them. Some of our guys were lucky enough to have perfect timing and got to reenlist aboard Arizona when we pulled in. Edited December 8, 2012 by rightwinger26 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) Well, what'cha doing the first week of December 2013? Come on out to Tucson; they'd LOVE to have you attend! Seriously. Although, time is running out; the day is fast approaching where we'll have the first reunion without a single one of the survivors. Still, you get to be with the families of survivors AND casualties. I'd be happy to sponsor you in. There's a lady here this year, she's come the past several; her dad was killed aboard the Arizona when she was an infant. Her mom remarried a survivor from the California who raised her as his own. She had no idea of this until she was a teenager and discovered her birth certificate...with a different last name. Edited December 8, 2012 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 That would be amazing, and I would love to show up in my Dress Blues to honor those men, but unfortunately, I'll be where the Navy belongs at the time of the next reunion. I would love to make it sometime though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Let me know; it's really not hard to be invited. All you really have to do is ask. That's how I'm with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) Oh believe me, when I know that I will be home, I will take you up on that offer, and thank you very mich for the offer. I feel bad that most people tend to forget about the other ships that were at Pearl. Obviously Arizona is the most memorable of that day, but a lot of people don't know the stories of California, Oklahoma, Nevada, Shaw, Cassin, Downes, Vestal, Oglala (the ship that sank from fright), Utah, Helena and Pennsylvania. Then there are the other boats that put up a good fight like Honolulu, Detroit, Curtiss, and the cruisers and destroyers that made the run for blue water. Oh, and don't forget the picket destroyer Ward Edited December 8, 2012 by rightwinger26 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Here's a good question, are there any surviving Chiefs from Arizona, or any other ship that was at Pearl? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) A day that will live in infamy Actually President Roosevelt said "...a date which will live in infamy." :) Edited December 8, 2012 by Jennings Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flyingfortress Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Actually President Roosevelt said "...a date which will live in infamy." :)/> I stand, or sit, corrected. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.