Lieutenant (JG) F.H. White was on board the USS West Virginia when it was attacked and sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The following is from White’s action report written on December 11, 1941:
At 0756, approximately, I was in the wardroom when the Fire and Rescue party was called away by bugle. I ran to the quarter deck.And this from a history of the West Virginia
The first thing I saw, on reaching topside was a Japanese plane over a ship, ahead of the West Virginia, from which a column of water and smoke was rising. As I ran forward, I stopped at the Deck office and sounded the general alarm just as the first torpedo struck the ship.
In route my battle station in secondary forward I noticed no one in charge of the AA battery on the boat deck where the crews were manning the guns, so I remained there and took charge of the battery, breaking out the ready service ammunition, forming an ammunition train and getting the starboard guns firing, local control.
The ship had received three or four torpedo hits which threw oil and water all over the decks, which combined with the list to -- approximately 25° -- made footing very precarious. Due to the list of the ship, the port gun crews were brought to starboard as their guns would not elevate sufficiently. The air to the guns had gone out, which necessitated depression for hand loading. While the guns were in action, several bombs dropped on or near the ship, but the discipline on the guns was excellent. […]
Lieutenant Commander J.H. Harper saw me and told me to go to the bridge and bring down the Captain who was wounded.
Lieutenant C.V. Ricketts, Ens. V. Delano, C.S.M. Siewert, D. Miller, M.Att.2c. and several signalmen were on the signal and flag bridges, in the immediate vicinity of the starboard admiral's walk where the Captain was lying.
The Captain's abdomen was cut apparently by a fragment of bomb, about three by four inches, with part of his intestines protruding. The Captain deserves the highest praise, for although he was in great pain, his only concern was for the ship and crew. […]
A serious oil fire from the galley spread to the mast structure, with flame and thick black smoke preventing our lowering the Captain forward of the conning tower although an unsuccessful attempt was made. The smoke and flames prevented us from seeing more than a foot or two, and the heat was intense. […]
The life jackets stowage and signal bags were burning by this time and Lt. Ricketts, Seiwert and I threw burning flags over the side. A fire hose was sent up by heaving line which I used to try to fight fire but the pressure was insufficient. By this time the bridge was burning to starboard, and the signal bridge all over.
Ens. Graham went up the starboard boat crane and sent over a line which we secured to the rail on the bridge and used to cross to the carne and thence to the boat deck. From then until relieved fought fire. […]
The ship's commanding officer, Capt. Mervyn S. Bennion, arrived on his bridge early in the battle, only to be struck down by a bomb fragment hurled in his direction when a 15-inch "bomb" hit the center gun in Tennessee's Turret II, spraying that ship's superstructure and West Virginia's with fragments.The West Virginia was later raised from the bottom and repaired. It took part in actions off the Philippines, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. By the war's end, it had earned five battle stars.
Bennion, hit in the abdomen, crumpled to the deck, mortally wounded, but clung tenaciously to life until just before the ship was abandoned, involved in the conduct of the ship's defense up to the last moment of his life. For his conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, Capt. Bennion was awarded a Medal of Honor.
On August 31, 1945 the West Virginia sailed into Tokyo Bay. It was thus a "witness" two days later to Japan's formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri.
The West Virginia's website is here. It's well worth a visit.
I can never find the right words to properly express my admiration and appreciation for our military men and woman. Their service and sacrifices make our freedoms possible and protect much of the world from becoming like North Korea or Sudan.
Michelle Malkin and Rich Moran posted outstanding tributes that include photos and links.
The Raleigh News & Observer recently published two beautifully written remembrance stories: “Living links to Pearl Harbor wane” and “Seeking peace at Pearl.” They're examples of American journalism at its best.
7 comments:
Thanks for the Pear Harbor post, John.
I noticed a headline on Yahoo! earlier today that said that the survivors expect this year's visit & ceremony to be their last. Not too many of them left - if you were 18 on Dec 7, 1945. you're 83 today...
I did see this article - Survivors honor Pearl Harbor victims on Yahoo!
Sad to see all these vets of the Greatest Generation pass away - my uncle landed at Normandy a few days after D-Day, once the beaches were ready for the armored divisions to land. The family accompanied him back to Normandy for the 60th Anniversary in June, 2004, where we met a 65yo Frenchman in St Mere Eglise.
The Frenchman was 5 when the bombardment started the night of June 5, and told us how all his farm family's cows were killed. He asked my uncle if he had landed the next day. "No", my uncle said, "but I drove through the neighborhood later". He fought in the breakout from the beaches, as well as the Battle of Falaise Gap, where his war ended as he lost an arm in a night battle w/ German Tigers near Orleans.
I cherish his memories of the war, and am so glad that he's still around to remind us of what all that generation did to ensure that we have the freedoms we enjoy today.
Dear GPrestonian,
Thanks for an interesting and touching comment.
What was your Uncle's Div.?
Did he come ashore as part of the First Army under Bradley with his Div. later transferred to Patton's Third Army?
Please tell your Uncle "Thank you" from this blogger for his service.
Best,
John
JWM:
Hey John, my Uncle was with the 3d Armored Division 'Spearhead', attached to Bradley's First Army. As you recall, Patton was still playing with the blow up toys in England at that point! :)
3d Armored, as I recall, was never attached to Patton's Third Army, tho they were (are) often confused due to the similar names. Still a lot of bitterness over the confusion - 3d Armored had a lot of firsts that are sometimes attributed to the Third Army (first shelling of Germany, first into Germany [first invasion of Germany since the Napoleonic Wars], first across the Siegfried Line, first city captured [Cologne]. 3d Armored's advance was more to the north, Patton's Third Army was a bit farther south.
Spearhead landed June 24, first(??) of the armored divisions to do so. Third Army wouldn't come across the Channel until a month later.
Spearhead drew & gave first blood at Villiers-Fossard 5 days later, broke out of the hedgerow fighting at St. Lo, then fought in the Battle of Mortain & the Battle of Argentan-Falaise Gap.
That's where my Uncle Bill's war ended, outside of Orleans on the night of Aug 15 - morning of Aug 16, 1944 after his squad and a squad of Tigers destroyed each other during an all night battle.
What caught my eye about your Pearl Harbor Day entry was the knowledge that this will be the last big get together for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. I've seen the same thing with the 3d Armored Divisions National Reunions over the last ~20 years. They've gotten smaller and smaller and smaller as the years go on and those heroes pass away.
Another heartwarmer - my Uncle was asked to head up the 1984 Reunion, so all the invites went out w/ his very unusual name on them. As we stood around the registration booth one afternoon, a man walked up slowly and said 'So, you made it'. The man had come to his first ever Reunion to see if the name he remembered from a set of dogtags in August, 1944 belonged to the man who had sent out the invites. As soon as he saw my Uncle, missing his right arm, he knew.
He was the man who had been the kid who had found my Uncle that morning, & carried and dragged him several miles to a field hospital, saving my Uncle's life.
Dear GPrestonian,
I very much appreciated your comment. The Army’s official history of WW II says, as you strongly implied, the 3rd Amd. was the first amd. div. to go into Normanday.
I was especially interested and moved by the “heartwarmer” part of your comment.
I hope you don’t mind a few questions:
Re: “Another heartwarmer - my Uncle was asked to head up the 1984 Reunion, so all the invites went out w/ his very unusual name on them. As we stood around the registration booth one afternoon, a man walked up slowly and said 'So, you made it'. “
...Where was the reunion? Was the man American, French, or some other nationality?...
“The man had come to his first ever Reunion to see if the name he remembered from a set of dogtags in August, 1944 belonged to the man who had sent out the invites. As soon as he saw my Uncle, missing his right arm, he knew.
He was the man who had been the kid who had found my Uncle that morning, & carried and dragged him several miles to a field hospital, saving my Uncle's life.”
...Why did the man as “kid” help your Uncle? Was he Army? French resistance? Good Samaritan?
What did your Uncle and the man say and do after their initial recognition and reunion?...
I hope you don’t feel I’m being intrusive.
Best,
John
Hey John, no, I don't think your questions are at all intrusive.
The Reunion was in New Orleans in 1984. The man who saved my Uncle's life was another American corporal from an infantry unit that happened upon the smoking ruins of the fight the next morning. I waxed poetic - he was a 19-yo 'kid' in 1944. My Uncle, 22+ at that time, was one of the 'old men' in his unit.
What did they do? They cried, as we all did. There wasn't a dry eye in the area around registration. And spent a lot of time together during the next few days.
I wasn't sure if 3d Armored was the first to land [hence the (??)], since 1st & 2d Armored were also in First Army. 4th & up were in the Third Army. The 3d landed at Omaha, not sure where the other First Army armored divisions landed since the First also landed some AD at Utah. Again, this was ~2 weeks after D-Day itself - took them that long to get the area ready for armored vehicles en masse, I think mostly because they needed more staging areas off the beaches.
Another first for 3d Armored that I think I left out of the prior post - they were first to cross the Rhine, crossing 1 day before elements of Patton's Third Army.
They really took some brutal casualties, heaviest of all the ADs in the theater.
I'm glad!
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