Posted on 12/06/2009 2:21:06 PM PST by rdl6989
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Ed Johann will always remember the sound of planes diving out of the sky to bomb U.S. battleships, the explosions and the screams of sailors. He still recalls the stench of burning oil and flesh.
The 86-year-old retired firefighter is due to return to Pearl Harbor Monday for the first time since World War II to attend a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack.
"I really don't know how I'm going to handle it," said Johann, from his home in Oregon. "When I think about it, all I have is unpleasantness. I'm sure it's not like that now." Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
Johann was a 17-year-old apprentice seaman on Dec. 7, 1941. He had enlisted in the Navy only five months earlier so his parents, who picked and packed tomatoes and other crops in California's San Fernando Valley, wouldn't have to support him.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Wow, I can’t possibly begin to imagine the emotions . . . then . . . or now. 17 years old and having to witness that. Or go back about nearly 7 decades. PH was emotional for me ten years ago when I visited.
God bless him.
Wife and I are going to see the Arizona Memorial, the Missouri, etc., in February.
God Bless the survivors.
My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor during the attack. He was with the US Army.
Never spoke a word about the attack or any other event during the war. Such a shame I never knew his personal story.
God bless them, it won’t be long now until they’re all gone. We’ll be a completely different nation by then.
“
Wife and I are going to see the Arizona Memorial, the Missouri, etc.,
in February.
“
Color me green with envy.
I’ve been intending to go for decades...will definitely make it
as soon as possible.
Touring the battleship Missouri is surely added incentive.
In case you haven’t seen these before...
US Navy site on The Missouri (click on pics to enlarge)
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/bb63.htm
(look close to see the six shells “on the way”)
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g40000/g47015.jpg
(Kamikazi about to bounce off The Missouri)
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h62000/h62696.jpg
The Missouri at Tokyo Bay:
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/japansur/js-8.htm
My Grandfather survived that attack...When I joined the Navy, he would tell me stories about that day, and the days afterward...When we rendered honors to the Arizona, it was always particularly hard for me...
My first CO had asked me why I appeared to be so resolute and stoic during the day or so leading up to entering PH on our deployments...He sat me down and we talked about those stories my grandfather told me...I thought I would never impress an officer like that, but then again good things happen to good people, and he went on to get his promotion(s) and was appointed to become the superintendent of the Naval Academy before he retired...
PH and 9-11 still bring the same stoic and quiet resolution in me as it did for my grandfather, and I will never forget it till I die...
Thanks Grand-dad...
“
My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor during the attack. He was with the US Army.
“
After being drafted at the ripe old age of 25, my father got to
“stand guard” as part of the US Army at Pearl Harbor for a year during
the mid-1950s.
He said the bullet holes left on the walls of Schofield Barracks
were still clearly visible at that time.
My grandfather was among the first to land at Omaha Beach for the D-Day Invasion. (First ones after the paratroopers).
He never told us that fact until 3 months before he died. He had developed congestive heart failure and knew his time was running out.
As you know, it’s the rule, not the exception for the vets of WWII to not speak of it. It’s my belief that they didn’t want the horror of it all to infect their families the way it affected them.
Altho my grandpa never talked about it all those years i knew he had survivors guilt. And he made sure the rest of his life was a peaceful one. He was quiet and always told us kids (the fighting cousins): “let’s all try to get along, even tho we hate each other”. It was laced with some sarcasm yes, obviously we didn’t hate each other, but we were kids and fought like cats and dogs.
We are very close to being that different nation now. Sad, but true.
The bullet holes are still there. Kind of like a memorial, I would think.
I don't know the name of that ship and don't know much more about his service as he never spoke of it ever.
I have never known of another person who was at both Pearl Harbor and D-Day. No wonder he never spoke of it.
“My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor during the attack. He was with the US Army.”
Check online, If you have his service information, especially reunions, you may find someone who would be happy to talk to you about it/him.
My dad had a first cousin, also US Army, who was there and went on to Africa. They got overrun and he was behind enemy lines for about two weeks before he made it out... never heard him talk about it until a year or two before his stroke.
My uncle had severe shell shock from the Battle of the Bulge (would hit the deck at any loud noise for years), but he returned to the battlefield before he died, and I was told that it really helped him.
bookmark
Thanks for posting the surrender information,
I had a uncle who was there, aboard the USS Mansfield. Don’t remember him saying if they were involved in transporting the US representatives and/or the Japanese delegation.
Do remember him saying they were on high alert because of the possibility of the signing being interrupted by Japanese factions.
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