Nimitz' diary is very interesting in that I never knew the fate of USS
Ward (DD-139). On Dec 7,1941, the
Ward fired the first American shot of WWII when she spotted, fired on and sank a Japanese submarine trying to enter Pearl Harbor.
In 1942, the Ward was reconfigured as a high speed transport APD-16.
Three years to the day after Pearl harbor, the Ward, now APD-16 was hit by a Kamikaze, abandoned and sunk by gunfire from the American destroyer O'Brian whose commander just happened to have been thecommander of the Ward on Dec 7, 1941.
hit by a Kamikaze, abandoned and sunk by gunfire from the American destroyer O'Brian whose commander just happened to have been thecommander of the Ward on Dec 7, 1941. Amazing convergence of circumstances.
A very poignant moment for that commander, I'm sure.