Seventy years ago today

[777 fixer]

Recently the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association was disbanded since there are only around 2000 left and it's harder and harder for them to get around.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20111207/NEWS13/112070309/Pearl-Harbor-survivors-group-disband?odyssey=nav%7Chead

 

[777 fixer]

I don't know if any of you have been to Pearl Harbor or not. I would strongly suggest you add it to the top of your bucket list. Go soon while there are still veterans alive and healthy enough to be there. Talk to them, learn history first hand, you'll never regret it. The visit will deliver the best return on your investment dollar.

I've been there several times, one of the "perks" of working for an airline. At least this I was. Anyway it's rather haunting watching the fuel oil bubbling up from the bunkers of the USS Arizona.

 

[SparrowHawk]

I've been there several times, one of the "perks" of working for an airline. At least this week at least. Anyway it's rather haunting watching the fuel oil bubbling up from the bunkers of the USS Arizona.

It's quite haunting. Almost bone chilling when you stop and realize that nearly 1,200 men are buried within.

 

[777 fixer]

It's quite haunting. Almost bone chilling when you stop and realize that nearly 1,200 men are buried within.

The only remains of the captain was his Naval Academy class ring. It was probably the same for a lot of the men in the forward part of the ship. What's ironic is that FDR attended the commissioning of the Arizona when he was Assistant Sec of the Navy.

 

[Ms Tree]

I was there a few years ago. Haunting experience. I saw a documentary on the USS Arizona a few years ago. There sent divers to inspect the site. The big concern now is that there are about 50,000 gallons of fuel oil left in the bunkers. The concern is that the bunkers will eventually collapse and cause an environmental catastrophe. They are looking for ways to contain the wreck without disturbing the resting place of the ship and those interned.

I also went on the USS Missouri. That was the most impressive ship I have ever been on. I cannot imagine that thing in action. I have seen video of the main guns being fired and that is an impressive site.

I am definitely glad I went. It was a very humbling experience.

 

[777 fixer]

I also went on the USS Missouri. That was the most impressive ship I have ever been on. I cannot imagine that thing in action. I have seen video of the main guns being fired and that is an impressive site.

Very impressive ship to say the least. Neat how it still has the dent where a kamikaze hit in 1945.

 

[Ms Tree]

I remember the docent talking about that. She also told the story (and I read about it on the on board literature) that the Cpt of the USS Missouri gave the pilot a full military burial. That is a captain of honor and integrity as far as I am concerned.

Sh also told a neat story about Harry Truman. He was on the ship from a run from Brazil to the US. He would eat at the various cafeterias. Supposedly he was told to go to the head of the line since he was POTUS. His response was that he had never cut in line before and he was not about to do it then. According to the sailors it was the best food they had ate in quite some time due to the fact that no one knew where Truman would eat. The sailors went to s far as to petition the Navy to allow them to rename the chow line to the Truman line. The Navy granted their request.

I also got to take a tour of one of the main turrets. When Reagan recommissioned the Mighty Mo the Navy decided to upgrade the fire control to electronic fire control. The electronics could not handle the harsh environment so they pulled the electronics and reinstalled the old fire controls from 1945. One problem. No one who was currently in the Navy knew how the the things worked. After all the fire controls were older than most of the kids on the boat. They ended up bring back some old salts out of retirement to teach the young kids how to work and maintain the old fire controls. The original fire trigger looked like the butt end of a revolver and was also original to the ship.

 

[SparrowHawk]

I remember the docent talking about that. She also told the story (and I read about it on the on board literature) that the Cpt of the USS Missouri gave the pilot a full military burial. That is a captain of honor and integrity as far as I am concerned.

Sh also told a neat story about Harry Truman. He was on the ship from a run from Brazil to the US. He would eat at the various cafeterias. Supposedly he was told to go to the head of the line since he was POTUS. His response was that he had never cut in line before and he was not about to do it then. According to the sailors it was the best food they had ate in quite some time due to the fact that no one knew where Truman would eat. The sailors went to s far as to petition the Navy to allow them to rename the chow line to the Truman line. The Navy granted their request.

I also got to take a tour of one of the main turrets. When Reagan recommissioned the Mighty Mo the Navy decided to upgrade the fire control to electronic fire control. The electronics could not handle the harsh environment so they pulled the electronics and reinstalled the old fire controls from 1945. One problem. No one who was currently in the Navy knew how the the things worked. After all the fire controls were older than most of the kids on the boat. They ended up bring back some old salts out of retirement to teach the young kids how to work and maintain the old fire controls. The original fire trigger looked like the butt end of a revolver and was also original to the ship.

I've been on it's sister ship the New Jersey but never the Missouri. If you want a great read about great but of unknown US Naval History check out the what was called the "Tin Can Navy" and their stand during the Philippine landing. Teh Captain of the USS Johnston won the Medal of honor for taking on the Japanese fleet in a Destroyer and damaging several ships. His courage drove the Japs off as they though these tiny ships were the advance portion of the US Fleet. Little did they know there was no one between them and the Marines on the beach. Here's a good start Last Stand of The Tin Can Navy

 

[Ms Tree]

The Johnson story rings a bell for some reason. I'm too tire to look it up know but wasn't that the ship that was damaged in a conflict and the Cpt said screw it, we are still fighting. IIRC he ran head on into the Japanese Navy and scared the crap out of them. As I'm typing this I think I saw it on one of those reenactment things on TV like the Dog fight program. If we are talking about the same thing I remember being really impressed with that Captain and his crew. I'll need to look that up tomorrow.

 

[Ms Tree]

One other tid bits before I go to bed.

McCarther said he wanted the baddest, biggest ugliest sailors and marines on the Mighty Mo for the surrender of Japan. Story goes that he got his wish. The Japanese had to walk a gauntlet of the baddest guys the US had to offer.

 

[SparrowHawk]

The Johnson story rings a bell for some reason. I'm too tire to look it up know but wasn't that the ship that was damaged in a conflict and the Cpt said screw it, we are still fighting. IIRC he ran head on into the Japanese Navy and scared the crap out of them. As I'm typing this I think I saw it on one of those reenactment things on TV like the Dog fight program. If we are talking about the same thing I remember being really impressed with that Captain and his crew. I'll need to look that up tomorrow.

The USS Johnston and several other Destroyer and Destroyer Escorts attacked Admiral Kurita's Central Force in the Battle off Samar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar

Yes it was on Dogfight.The day JOHNSTON was commissioned, CDR Evans made a speech to the crew, "This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now."

When the Japanese fleet during the Battle off Samar was first sighted, Evans did not hesitate and his ship immediately headed directly towards the far superior enemy. He is reported to have told his crew over the ship's intercom: "A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

NOTE: Quotes are from multiple web sites dedicated to remembering the heroism of TAffy-3

 

[SparrowHawk]

To: Ms Tree, 777 Fixer, Delldude, Tech,
From: Me

I guess our parents did a pretty good job raising us. Seems the appreciation of the heroism of those who have gone before is not forgotten. The ideals of Freedom & Liberty are alive in the civility of the debates we engage in.

I can't fathom what it must be like to be under attack as those brave men were. The impact of the war is still seen this very day. I worked for two large Japanese Companies and it was kind of funny in a way that even now the Senior Executives from Japan seen to "get lost" on December 7th.

Good Day,

The Mighty Sparrowhawk

 

[777 fixer]

The USS Johnston and several other Destroyer and Destroyer Escorts attacked Admiral Kurita's Central Force in the Battle off Samar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar

Yes it was on Dogfight.The day JOHNSTON was commissioned, CDR Evans made a speech to the crew, "This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now."

When the Japanese fleet during the Battle off Samar was first sighted, Evans did not hesitate and his ship immediately headed directly towards the far superior enemy. He is reported to have told his crew over the ship's intercom: "A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

NOTE: Quotes are from multiple web sites dedicated to remembering the heroism of TAffy-3

He did do some considerable damage. Torpedoes from the Johnston blew the bow off a Japanese heavy cruiser which then required assistance from another Japanese ship. One torpedo, two IJN ships taken out of the fight.

 

[Ms Tree]

From Sparrows link:

At 09:45, Evans finally gave the order to abandon ship. Johnston sank 25 minutes later with 186 of her crew. Evans abandoned ship with his crew, but was never seen again. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. However, it was the Japanese themselves that first recognized the Johnston's incredible actions that day: As a destroyer from the opposing fleet cruised slowly by, a Johnston survivor reported seeing the Japanese crew lining the rails rendering honors, a salute, to their courageous defeated enemy.

War is a very strange beast. It seem to bring out the absolute worst that man can offer and yet sometimes there is a bit of honor mixed in as well.

 

[777 fixer]

What's interesting about the Pearl Harbor attack is that while it's probably one of the most daring and brilliantly conceived military operations in history it's also one of the biggest strategic disasters in hisotry.

They also made some crucial tactical errors during the attack as well. There were several casses of Zero pilots bascially wasting ammo strafing cars. If they had used that ammo to attack the storage tanks at Pearl they would have started one heck of a fire. Without fuel the remnants of the fleet would have had no choice but to return to the West Coast.