[NormsRevenge]

[mainepatsfan]

Tragic day. We never should have been caught so unaware.

[VOA]

just a ping...

http://www.ok-history.mus.ok.us/mus-sites/OklahomaMuseumHistory_files/smhexhibits.html

(scroll down a bit for a Battleship Oklahoma listing)

I remember seeing the silver service (and ship's bell?) salvaged from the Oklahoma
when I toured the OK Historical Society building...decades ago.

[EGPWS]

Sixty-three years after the sneak attack that plunged the United States into World War II, hundreds of men who died aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma are finally getting their own special tribute.

YES!!!

This is great!

Now how long before the occupants of the "twin towers" receive the same respect....60 years? I hope not.

[VOA]

The Oklahoma was refloated in 1943 and sold for scrap after the war, but it sank
in the Pacific while being towed to California.

Call it a bit of perverse Okie pride...but they didn't get to turn the
beautiful battlewagon into razor-blades...

[jws3sticks]

Is 12/7 equal to 9/11. I think not but it could be close. Both options are quite scary.

[PAR35]

The Utah also sank at Pearl Harbor. "Her partially submerged hulk still remains, rusting, at Pearl Harbor with an unknown number of men trapped inside." "Chief Watertender Tomich received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his selfless act in ensuring the safety of others."
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb31.htm

[VOA]

While the better-known Arizona has a gleaming white memorial straddling its
hull, the Oklahoma has gone largely unrecognized over the years.

Heck, that's a bit of a stretch.
I suspect that even a few decades ago the vast number of US citizens,
asked to name a battleship struck/sunk at on Dec. 7, 1941...
if they even could name one, would say "Arizona".

Heck, I'm a junky for this stuff and didn't realize a "California" had been
in the battle until I bought a Pearl Harbor commemorative put out
by Time-Life...just a couple of weeks before 9-11...

[yooper]

I once had the privilege of installing a furnace for a man (A retiree from the California penal system who was once a guard at Alcatraz) who had seen much more than his share of action in the Pacific theater; during my time in his home he told me many stories about his service while he was in the navy during WWII. Therein lies the privilege.

But he wouldn't talk about Pearl Harbor, other than to tell me that he was there. Due to his lack of candor, I always had lingering doubts about whether or not he was really there, but then recently he passed on. The obituary in my local paper showed me that he was indeed there, as well as many other prominent places which he didn't tell me about. We're talking hardcore stuff, even for WWII, the historic places and battles he'd been in made my head spin as I read the obituary. Reading the obit, I was amazed at the places he'd been, the destruction and death he'd witnessed, and most of all the fact that he didn't care to relive them for a snot-nosed furnace installer.

Recalling our talks, I realized that he had only talked about the minor things, and he had been unable, or unwilling, to talk about the really bad things he had seen. He held it all in without my realizing he was holding it all in.

That's a Man, folks. A US Man, a US Sailor. He carried his end, as well as a good share of the ends of others, and never asked for recognition, never once, at least in my presence.

We all owe Mr. Abarr a debt of gratitude which he never asked for while he was here, and we all are too late to repay that debt to him, but, we can push for this Oklahoma memorial.

At the very least I would urge everyone to be on the lookout for our current servicemen and servicewomen. You people in our larger population centers, and those who live near military bases: How often do you see these people in a grocery store or restaurant? Please do something nice and buy their meal or groceries; they are protecting our butts and getting too damned little pay for doing so.

Sorry for the long post.....

[VOA]

http://www.geocities.com/bb37usa/

a good site for USS Oklahoma

[bray]

According to the Wicked Witch of NY, Bush Knew!!

Pray for W and Our Troops

[PAR35]

Congressional Medal of Honor
Awarded Posthumously
FRANCIS C. FLAHERTY

Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve.
Place and date: During the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941.
Born: 15 March 1919, Charlotte, Michigan.
Accredited to: Michigan.

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


Congressional Medal of Honor
Awarded Posthumously
JAMES RICHARD WARD

Rank and organization: Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy.
Place and date: Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.
Born: 10 September 1921, Springfield, Ohio.
Entered service at: Springfield, Ohio.

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.

http://www.worldwariihistory.info/Medal-of-Honor/Pearl-Harbor.html