Captain’s Column

In the midst of this holiday season, it is important that we pause to remember a significant event in the history of our country and our Navy…the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

To tie it locally, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was commissioned March 12, 1941, and soon after, on March 20, the first 52 students arrived for training. Ground school began on April 7, and flight training a month later when the first aircraft arrived -- Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 Canary or “Yellow Peril” biplanes.

The first 45 cadets – of the original 52 -- successfully completed training and received their commissions and Wings of Gold on Nov. 1, 1941.

The base chapel held its first service Dec. 7, 1941. After services let out, people heard on the radio that Japanese planes had attacked U.S. bases at Pearl Harbor and destroyed much of the Pacific fleet. The attack by the Japanese was a two-wave assault, lasting more than two hours and resulted in more than 2,000 casualties. President Roosevelt declared it a “day which will live in infamy.”

Almost half of the casualties at Pearl Harbor occurred on the naval battleship USS Arizona, which was hit four times by Japanese bombers and eventually sank. Here are some little known facts about the attack on that day:

There were 37 confirmed pairs or trios of brothers assigned to USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941. Of these 77 men, 62 were killed, and 23 sets of brothers died. Only one full set of brothers, Kenneth and Russell Warriner, survived the attack; Kenneth was away at flight school in San Diego on that day and Russell was badly wounded but recovered. Both members of the ship’s only father-and-son pair, Thomas Augusta Free and his son William Thomas Free, were killed in action.

USS Arizona’s entire band was lost in the attack. Among the 1,177 crewmen killed were all 21 crew members of the Arizona’s band. Most of its members were on deck preparing to play music for the daily flag raising ceremony when the attack began. They instantly moved to man their battle stations beneath the one of the ship’s gun turret.

Fuel continues to leak from USS Arizona’s wreckage. On Dec. 6, 1941, Arizona took on a full load of fuel, nearly 1.5 million gallons, in preparation for its scheduled trip to the mainland later that month. The next day, much of it fed the explosion and subsequent fires that destroyed the ship following the attack by Japanese bombers. After more than 70 years, the Arizona continues to spill up to 9 quarts into the harbor each day.

Despite the horrific losses that sunny morning Dec. 7, 1941, most of the battleships sunk that day were recovered thanks to the grit, determination, and shear heroic efforts of the men and women, military and civilian, of the United States military. Of the eight battleships struck during the attacks, all but two were eventually repaired and returned to the U.S. Navy’s fleet, seeing action in the Pacific and off the coast of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.

So amongst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, please take a moment to remember the sacrifices of that day, and remember what our great Nation can accomplish in a time of crisis. Happy Holidays, see you around the base.