When Japanese bombs began to fall on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Dudersel first sought refuge below the deck of the aircraft carrier Oklahoma.
But a decision made in less than a second on a December morning 80 years ago changed his mind and perhaps saved his life.
David Russell, now 101, said in a recent interview that he ‘started to close that hatch and I decided to get out.’
His ship was capsized within 12 minutes as a result of the torpedoes. 429 sailors and marines from Oklahoma were killed. It was the most casualties to that day since the USS Arizona. 1177 people died on the aircraft carrier Arizona.
Russell plans to return to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday, where he will attend a memorial service for the 2,300 American soldiers who died in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that launched the United States into World War II. was
About 100 war veterans, including 30 soldiers who survived the attack, are expected to observe a moment of silence at 7:55 am.
This is the minute the attack began. The soldiers who survived the attack, now in their late 90s or older, stayed at home last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and watched the live-streamed ceremony.
Russell Best is traveling by air with the Defense Foundation. This non-profit organization, founded by NFL (National Football League) linebacker, Donnie Edwards, supports World War II veterans on their tours of old battlefields.
Russell recalled that when the attack began, he went to the top because he had trained to load anti-aircraft guns and could help if anyone else loading the shells was injured.
But before they could get there, Japanese torpedo planes dropped several underwater missiles that targeted the Oklahoma. The giant battleship capsized in 12 minutes.
According to Russell: ‘Those damn torpedoes kept hitting us. Just keep on playing. I thought it would never stop. The ship was rocking from side to side.’
Russell crawled over and around the fallen lockers on his hands and feet. “You kind of have to walk sideways,” he said.
Once on the main deck, they stood on the side of the ship and saw the aircraft carrier USS Maryland anchored nearby.
They did not want to swim because the discharged oil was burning in the water below. Jumping, they grabbed hold of the rope that was hanging from the Maryland and escaped unhurt and reached the battleship.
They then helped deliver the shells to the Maryland anti-aircraft guns.
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
After the battle, Russell and two others went to Ford Island in search of a bathhouse, near which the warships were anchored.
The existing dispensary and living quarters were converted into a decision point for medical aid and a shelter for hundreds of wounded.
They saw badly burnt cellars sitting against the walls. Many of them were to die in the next few hours and days to come.
According to Russell: ‘Many of them wanted to smoke and I didn’t smoke at the time but yes, I got a few boxes of cigarettes and matches and I lit them for them.
According to Russell: ‘You feel the pain of these people but I couldn’t do anything. Just lit their cigarette and let them smoke.’
Russell still thinks how lucky he was. They wonder why they decided to move upstate to Oklahoma.
They knew that many of them who stayed behind could not get out after the passage was blocked in the deck.
In the first two days after the bombing, civilian crews at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard rescued 32 people trapped inside the Oklahoma by punching holes in the ship’s hull, but many others died.
Most of the dead were buried in unmarked graves in Honolulu marked ‘unknown’ because their remains were not identified until they were disembarked between 1942 and 1944.
In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed 388 sets of these remains in hopes of identifying them with the help of DNA technology and dental records.
They were able to identify 361 sets. Russell’s brother Nisati was also among them. Fireman 1st Class Walter ‘Bone’ Rogers was in the fireroom when the torpedo hit, Russell said.
The Army identified his remains in 2017 and they were subsequently reburied at Arlington National Cemetery. Russell remained in the Navy until his retirement in 1960. He worked at Air Force bases for the next two decades and retired permanently in 1980.
His wife Violet died 22 years ago and he now lives alone in Albany, Oregon. He drives himself in a black Ford Explorer to the general store and the local American Legion post.
Meanwhile, they listen to polka music at full volume. When he is not with other veterans at the Legion, he reads military history and watches television. They have 500-piece puzzles to keep the brain sharp.
For decades Russell didn’t talk much about his experiences in World War II because no one seemed to care, but scenes from Pearl Harbor still haunt him today, especially at night.
According to Russell: ‘When I was at the VA hospital in San Francisco, they said they wanted you to talk about World War II. I told them that people don’t believe us when we talk about it. They just go away. So now people want to know more about it and we’re trying to talk about it and we’re telling them what we saw. You can’t forget it.’
#Scenes #Pearl #Harbor #haunt #today #101yearold #soldier
2024-07-21 15:19:19