Harold C. Berg US Navy USS Phoenix |
Information provided by Harold Berg. |
Harold Berg and V Mills Carpenter, like their World War II ship, the USS Phoenix, are survivors. Both men not only served together on the Phoenix, they shared a duty station on the morning of December 7, 1941, as Japanese planes, in a surprise attack, rained death upon Pearl Harbor. Both former shipmates, who lived through one of history's most infamous days, reside in Englewood, Florida. Carpenter served in the Phoenix's aft engine room; Berg in the forward. "We got acquainted because of our positions," said Berg. On December 7, the cruiser Phoenix was anchored 1,000 yards from the north end of Battleship Row, the primary target of the first wave of Japanese torpedo bombers. "The first thing I heard was an anti-aircraft alert come over the loudspeaker," recalled Carpenter, who was a fireman first class. "Then we went to general quarters, and someone was yelling over and over, 'This is not a drill'. By the time I got to the engine room, you could hear explosions, and our machine-guns firing." Harold Berg, a machinist mate first class, like Carpenter, had been getting ready for church services when the attack occurred. "I was thinking about getting our a Christmas card and going to church when I heard the call for general quarters. Then I heard a ruckus and looked out a porthole in time to see a plane that wasn't 50 feet over the water, with tracer bullets going by it. I felt like I could almost reach out and touch it I saw red suns on the wings. "My battle station was on the second deck for relief standby until our watch started in the engine room. While waiting, most of us went out to help handle ammunition. You had done it before but, with those red balls flying over your head, it was a little different." The Phoenix cast off and got underway during a lull at 0825. The harbor, full of explosions and burning ships, required Phoenix to make numerous course changes to avoid collisions. Carpenter recalls, "Our position in the ship was 20 feet below the water line. You could hear bombs and the reverberation of exploding depth charges dropped by destroyers. We had to continually tend to the boilers so we could maneuver." Berg, above deck, remembers a sight that has never left him. "As we came upon her, we could see the Oklahoma just settling slowly down into the water, then she just rolled over. I remember seeing her great mast laying over in the water. God, it was a horrible mess." The Naval Base ordered Phoenix back to its mooring because of submarine activity. She eventually got under way after the second attack, around 1030. "As we headed out the channel, we passed by the Arizona. There was all this fire and boats running back and forth to pick up survivors. The Nevada was beached on her way out of the channel. It was a pretty awful picture. I remember waving at the Nevada as we went by They were cheering that we were getting out to go look for the Japanese." With all the mayhem around them, Phoenix would somehow come through unscathed, hit by only a single machine-gun bullet. It was a fortunate streak that would remain with the ship throughout close calls in her 24 other engagements in the Pacific where she hosted Gen. Douglas MacArthur several times. The legacy left her the nickname, "Lucky Phoenix, the luckiest ship in the Navy." Down in the engine room, Carpenter never saw the battle that was raging around Pearl Harbor. He wouldn't see the destruction of Pearl Harbor until three days later when the Phoenix returned from searching for the Japanese fleet. "It was devastating. I recall seeing men on the hull of the Oklahoma still trying to cut holes in the bottom to get survivors out." Berg feels the Phoenix was fortunate not to find the Japanese fleet. "Thank the Lord they pulled back to Japan after they thought they had done enough to Pearl Harbor." Carpenter talked to men from the gun crews who shot down several Japanese planes on December 7. "One was a Marine, named Wolf, who got credit," said Carpenter. He adds, "We had a colored steward who, as the attack started, came up from the galley and manned a .50 caliber machine-gun and began firing. The Navy had pretty strict rules about not firing unless ordered to do so. Some officer brought him up on charges, but given the circumstances, the Navy dropped it." Carpenter and Berg remained in contact after the war. "We kept in touch by phone calls, and he came from Minnesota for a visit to my home in Oklahoma City. My wife and I moved to Florida about 37 years ago and he and his wife came about 10 years later." Berg adds, "We visited here and liked it, but were also looking at Arizona Mills being here was definitely a factor." Oddly enough, the two men don't talk much about that dark day in America's history. "We usually go to the ships' reunions together and to the Pearl Harbor ceremonies," said Carpenter. 'Our organization's motto is "Remember Pearl Harbor, Be Prepared!' But I'm not exactly sure why we don't talk about it much maybe it's because it was such a long time ago, and maybe it's that we have other things in life to worry about these days." |
