Salmon. He heard the same stories from his grandmother and his aunts. He visited the memorial and was relieved to see the builders got it right. He was on his own once again, he and his young family. The family sold maple syrup distilled from the trees on their farm. "That lumber was so damn green then, we used to kid we had to shoot the squirrels out of it.". The ship was still a day away from Honolulu when the captain received new orders. "We'd leave at 5:30 in the evening and stay out 12 or 14 hours, then return in the morning," Conter said. They will celebrate 65 years of marriage in April. "I had to help my father out of his seat. What he heard wasn't quite country music, but he liked it and he told the kid. Finally, they made their way to Salinas, Calif., just inland from Monterey on the central coast. He is one of nine living survivors of the Arizona and, at 97, he has amassed a lifetime of unforgettable days. In 1949, the newly created U.S. Air Force was trying to fill it out its ranks with experienced support crews, almost begging for mechanics who knew the aircraft. Pearl Harbor was a United States Naval base on the island of Oahu, located west of Honolulu. "Would you like to listen to it?" Stratton's eyes brighten. Conter attended the same event and was seated next to Valerie. Thickets of tangled shrubs and rows of trees are visible from his window. Hetrick, who is 91, has outlived most of the men he knew on the Saratoga. "We said we'd volunteer if they'd put two or three of us together on the same ship," he said. For 30 years, Lauren Bruner punched a clock at a manufacturing plant south of Los Angeles, a World War II veteran in a landscape crawling with them. Be immersed in the details of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor and . Lonnie finally retired from welding in 1982 and in 1994, the Cooks moved back to Morris. He was on Ford Island when the Japanese attacked, training for new assignment. "There's the battleships there's the Nevada, the Arizona, the Tennessee, the West Virginia, Maryland, the Oklahoma. As they walked toward it, Langdell reeled at an odor. Since the 1920s . He stepped off the deck into a motor launch as the ship was sinking. He spent long months on a tender, a vessel that carries equipment, parts and other supplies for ships at sea. As the USS Arizona burned and sunk into the harbor, Stratton and five other men had been trapped on an anti-aircraft gun control platform on the ship's foremast, burned in a fireball when below-deck ammunition exploded. Japan and China were at war again and America was trying to protect its interests without getting involved in the conflict. Enemy patrol planes spotted the ships and the raid was canceled. He left home at 5 every morning and took a ferry from Jamestown to the Navy base. did sharks eat pearl harbor victims. "Once after we crossed the equator, one of the planes came back," he says. did sharks attack titanic survivors. Before the big battleship could leave Puget Sound, Anderson volunteered for another mission, joining the small Asiatic Fleet along the coast of China. Inside the packets were the captains' new orders, military secrets, classified information that required clearance to handle. For Hetrick, the section of mooring line links him to those final moments of the Arizona. He was nervous about volunteering for anything, but he raised his hand. The ship steamed toward the Asiatic Pacific and soon Anderson was chasing Japanese forces again, only this time the United States was at war. After high school, Langdell enrolled at Boston University, working nights to pay for his classes, and in 1938, he earned a degree in business administration. A while back, Stratton and his wife Velma retired to Yuma and lived there about 15 years. "We took off," Bruner said, "firing just as fast as we could. By the time the woman from Illinois found him, he was ready to face his past. You're on your own, every day.'". "Cover the decks, anywhere you can find them up to the top of the masts.". Today, he tries to pass on what he knows to students of history. "I motioned to crane operator what we needed, what tools to send down." Did sharks eat Titanic victims? "I'd already sent word, even before the first one got there," he says. His story is always in demand, though he'd just as soon not tell it in front of a lot of people. His dad has never sought recognition for his service on the Arizona and barely talks about the day of the attack. Conter was talking about survival, about coming back alive. In 1966, 25 years after the attack, Stratton returned to Pearl Harbor with his family. He had escaped the USS Arizona, the battleship whose losses surpassed any other. Until his partner ran off with all the money. Conter told him about the lost orders. I think it was one of the proudest days of my father's life.". The Macdonough stayed until September, then sailed back on patrol in the Pacific. OAHU, Hawaii (NEXSTAR) On the day that will live in infamy December 7, 1941 2,403 U.S. personnel were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Maybe next time. "Some of the ships I was on had guys who liked to play the guitar, so I knew something about it. The Coghlan approached the Aleutians in October, as winter was pushing fall aside. Rays. The job wasn't what he expected in September, when he was discharged from the Navy. popeyes vs chicken express; do venmo requests expire The ship carried four 5-inch anti-aircraft guns and six half-inch machine guns, and, initially, five 21-inch torpedo tubes. "In three days, we rescued 219 coast watchers without losing anybody," Conter said. Stratton logged thousands of miles of travel. "We worked with a crane barge capable of lifting 700 tons," he sys. The first couple of trips back to Hawaii were difficult. "From down inside, it wasn't too bad when they fired it," Cook said. "We're right-arm rates." Before the trip, Langdell hadn't talked much about his years in the war, about his time on the Arizona. Marietta shakes her head. ", He stops in front of a newspaper, the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin with the headline: "WAR! June 12, 2022 . When he first arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hetrick wasn't even old enough to buy a beer until he found a place where they didn't ask questions if a guy was in a service uniform. He can't relive those images anymore. They trade stories. did sharks eat pearl harbor victimssig sauer minimalist folding stock. He was 20 when he escaped the burning wreckage ofthe USS Arizonain Pearl Harbor. This list and the accompanying graphics do not include encounters in which a shark does not actually bite a person or board (e.g. Long a bachelor again, Bruner has also entertained lady friends from time to time. It wasn't, but the flash was a reminder, as if he needed anything more. His son reaches in the cab and queues up one of the hundreds of songs he and his daughter downloaded onto the new MP3 player. By Christmas, he was in a hospital at Mare Island near San Francisco. He said he wanted Anderson to join the on-air staff. 2023 www.azcentral.com. "OK," Bruner said. It's in good shape for a paper.". One day, a young fellow knocked on his door. Yes, some of them were his friends. At his request, he was assigned to the officer candidate school in Newport, R.I. When the fourth bomb detonated in the powder magazine, anyone left was blown over the side. June 12, 2022 June 12, 2022 0 Comments June 12, 2022 0 Comments He settled in Palm Springs and built a career as a real estate developer, buying up land for commercial and residential projects. "Mr. Langdell, Mr. Langdell, you've got to come here quick," he said. I asked the boss, 'how many hours is in a day for you?' "To see the people I knew back in those days," he says. Hetrick was on board during battles at Midway and Wake Island and for the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima early in 1945. I saw one airplane, with a big red meatball on the side. The trophy sits on a small white base that raises it above other items on a shelf. The new shoes he left on the deck of the sinking ship, the ones he intended to retrieve later. As the boat heaved, the man with the ax missed and hit Haerry's hand, nearly severing it from his wrist. "Listen, all those men down there on that ship, a thousand of them, they wouldn't do it and I don't think they'd want me to do it," he says. If a plane crashed, crocodiles awaited in the river. "They said he was a tough bastard, but that's exactly what they needed.". 2 gun turret. He doesn't need to say which Saturday night by now. 1914-1941:The mightiest ship at sea | Dec. 7, 1941: The attack that changed the world| Documentary: 'Witness to Infamy' | 2014: The final toast. He moved to Provo and sold cars until 1990. It took Ray Jr. years, decades to piece together his father's story. "What houses they built!" The strike climaxed a decade of worsening relations between the United States and Japan. Williams was on deck, tuning up to play for colors, an early call after the previous day's fleet Battle of the Bands on shore. "I'd do it a hundred times more," he says. As each name was read, Rhode Island National Guard Maj. Gen. Kevin McBride presented the man with the Rhode Island Star, one of the state's highest military honors. His new employer manufactured industrial refrigeration units. "I said, 'Well, come on, then,'" Marietta says, and in 1950, they wed. That's where the cross-country adventures begin. For a long time, he didn't think he would ever return to Pearl Harbor. This all changed when the United States declared war on Japan, bringing the country into World War II. He was thrown into the ocean and waited 57 hours to be rescued while shipmates around him were eaten by sharks. "Andy, you had 12 years of the damnedest fighting I ever saw. One day, a Navy officer came on board and asked if anyone wanted to volunteer for an assignment in the aviation section. Peeling potatoes. "You either had a nice place aboard a ship and were high and dry or you didn't have anything," he reasoned. Hetrick was sent to the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier. "There was a huge oil fire on the surface of the water fueled by the ships' tanks, so it created these giant fires all over the water," Nelson said. He eases the truck out of the carport, far enough to show it off. Medals. Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy came to the conclusion that for the Japanese to be victorious in the pacific, they had to destroy the . It's the same place where the oil is leaking" oil stores aboard the ship that, even today, still seep to the surface "that's where I got out from below.". "You know, you can see where I came out of, the hatchway. As anniversaries of the attack passed, Ray Jr. would asked his dad if he wanted to visit the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor. The two men not only met, they took a boat to the USS Arizona memorial and laid a wreath in front of the wall with the names of the crewmen who died on the ship. I think that's what kept me living to this day.". '", "Some things," he says, "you don't know about what they'll mean until years later.". Bruner thought it an odd request. Eighty years later, many of those killed are finally returning home and being laid to rest. I guess he'd do anything he could for me. One of the first people to do that.". Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The six men stared straight ahead, almost as if they were back in line, at attention. Only 35 dead were . Haerry accepted the medal, but found he could not speak. Pearl Harbor became one of the major reason for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy (in 1893) and the kingdoms annexation (in 1898) by the US government.The Spanish American war began that same year in the Philippines and Cuba which ended with the US winning both territories from the Spanish. In January, another ship took him to San Francisco to the Navy hospital on Treasure Island. "The sea was real rough when it came in and the sharks started gathering around. Haerry straightened in his seat as his story was told. The smell of burned skin filled the air. "Sometimes, we'd come back, eat, then sleep on the beach.". She returned, puzzled. Bruner looked each recruit in the eyes to determine the right job, but he wasn't testing their mettle, not yet. "It never gets easy to go back," he says. He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Never heard of it.". "Three months later, I was in Korea.". Then they'd go by.". It was as if he had none. He was able to visit the national cemetery at an area called the Punch Bowl. -Ryan Dutcher. I even had a couple of dates with girls.". At 93, he is one of the last survivors ofthe attack on the Arizona. He had a ticket home to Minnesota, but decided to find a place to stay and come up with a plan. "I just got discharged. He tried to keep his thoughts on the work in the office. Calhoun quizzed Conter about his posting, his job on the ship. ", "I was," Anderson said. Wherever he goes on the pickup, people ask him about his experience. The crews learned the routines of the Japanese ships. A painting of the Arizona hangs on the wall of a sitting room. Their ordeal . "It gets your breath when you first see it," he says. An aerial view of "Battleship Row" at Pearl Harbor, photographed from a Japanese aircraft during the the bombing. One day in May, crewmen spotted two periscopes in the water and the Frazier opened fire. He finished his training and was discharged in December 1945. From Virginia, he went to Utah, to France and then to Albuquerque, where he retired in November 1961. It sits a little higher than most items, but not necessarily on a platform. That didn't last long and he headed back to Morris, where he met Marietta. Haerry accepts the chocolate bars his son has brought him. At this one, he was looking around the room and he saw a picture of a sailor way back in the back, in a setting arranged like a memorial. UPDATE:John Anderson diedin November 2015, less than a year after this report. On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Cook was changing clothes at his locker, savoring the thought of a day in Honolulu with the $60 he'd won in a craps game the night before. He wanted men with eyes set in the right place on their face. Now, Bruner prepares for his next trip in the Captain's Quarters. He liked teaching and liked the chance to instill discipline. By Michael E. Ruane. He displayed no pictures, kept no mementos that his family knew about. By April 1940, the Navy seemed like a good idea and by summer, he was on board the Arizona, stationed at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. And that's what he told every soldier and airman who took his courses.*. In 1940, Anderson reported to the Arizona once more, joining his brother for the first time since they had enlisted. 3 gun turret. Framed medals. Except the cap. Conter had made friends with a young lady in Honolulu. "I said, 'sure, I'll take it.' "They were holed up behind sandbags, but they never got hit.". The next morning, the Arizona was still burning as oil flowed out of her full tanks. One, Joe Langdell, lives about 40 miles away in Yuba City. With his experience running cranes on the Arizona, Potts figures he could have landed a decent job at the Geneva Steel operation, but he didn't want to work shifts, so he worked as a carpenter again and eventually went into the used car business with a friend. His wife, Libby, who died two years ago. Minutes later, the Japanese attacked and the Arizona was on fire, sinking beneath the surface. They covered the growing seasons: cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, grapes. Similarly, the . Cook got the buddy's telephone number and tried to call him. "He said, 'I had survival training in the ocean. He climbed aboard the ship, ducking to avoid bullets from the gunner planes. Pearl Harbor was the most important American . In California, he earned his naval seaman's license and went to work on a drilling rig offshore near Santa Barbara. He decided to head back to the water. He had taken a bullet to the back of his leg as he was climbing the tower, but the burns were far worse. "I cleaned up my language," he says, admitting he deployed a salty vocabulary, even after leaving active duty. Cook stood on a shelf in the gun mount with his big binoculars and watched the Marines raise the flag to mark the U.S. victory. "I decided I'd do whatever they told me to. Potts says, shaking his head. "It was boring," Potts says. "They played country music because the people here loved that," Anderson says. Joe saved six lives and he didn't get crap. He bought another gun in the states and he is never far from it. LaRocque took Anderson to San Pedro, where his current ship was anchored. Once, I made a dive in a two-man submarine, down in over 1,200 feet of water off Santa Barbara coast. The cities were in ruins. The ship remained anchored outside Pearl Harbor for most of a month as U.S. commanders planned their next move against the Japanese in the South Pacific. Langdell returned to Pearl Harbor in 1976. Bruner was at his battle station in an anti-aircraft gun director, a metal box on the forward mast of the Arizona, when an armor-piercing bomb ignited the ship's powder magazine. At dawn on December 7, 1941, more than half of the United States Pacific Fleet, approximately 150 vessels and service craft, lay at anchor or alongside piers in Pearl Harbor.
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