Pearl Harbor Battleship honored on Dec. 7 (USS Oklahoma)

RE: Ward and Flaherty
When it was seen that the U.S.S. Oklahoma was going to capsize and the order was given
to abandon ship, Ward remained in a turret holding a flashlight so the remainder
of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.

Ironic that our domestic liberals/Democrats/Socialists don't often mention
that the Congressional Medal of Honor is occassionally handed out to someone
who didn't hold a rifle or a pistol...

Thanks for the info on the bell from the California.
I'll look for it if I ever make it to Sacramento.

The Time-Life Pearl Harbor commemorative publication I mentioned in a previous post...
had a color photo of the tattered flag rescued from the California on the back cover.

During the attack, the Japs thought it was a front line battleship and attacked.

Actually, my understanding is that the wood timbers mounted on Utah's decks, plus her being positioned in what was usually a carrier berth, led the attacking Japanese to think she was a CV (Yamamoto's priority targets on 12/7/41).

There's at least one sketch out there, drawn by a Japanese pilot during the attack, indicating that a US carrier (Lexington Class) had been attacked and sunk ... even though no US carrier was in Pearl that morning.

I went to your USS Oklahoma link. I have often wondered what it was like to have been caught like those sailors were. I sensed the horror reading their accounts. Here from your link:

Quickly the water flooded in. We were buffeted about, twisted and turned by its strength. Then the dark waters closed over me as the ship came to rest- upside down on the bottom of the harbor.

Quickly the water flooded in. We were buffeted about, twisted and turned by its strength. Then the dark waters closed over me as the ship came to rest- upside down on the bottom of the harbor.

When the ship turned over, the water came in the vents through the whole ship. The deck became the overhead, it just put us in an upside down position. It took all your senses to figure out where you were.

About ten minutes after the attack started (the lights went out). We were in there for about 36 hours. We lost track of time.

There were bodies in the water, debris, and you were standing on the ceiling on the pipes, with the deck above your head. Talk about disorientation.

I touched my face and didn't know my hand was there until it touched, it was that dark...I felt around there and couldn't feel any opening… So I just waited there, I don't know how long, four, five or maybe six hours.

Tapping was heard from inside the ship up through December 10th, but they were trapped below the water line. Rescue was impossible and they slowly suffocated.

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