Samuel Bradlyn Hickam Field |
In a letter written home to his parents shortly after the attack at Pearl Harbor, Lieutenant Samuel Bradlyn writes: I was at breakfast when I saw what I thought to be Navy dive bombers diving on Pearl Harbor, going almost vertically down and then standing on their tails as they turned up again. "Look at those babies dive" cried someone. "They're even using smoke bombs." We went to the window to watch the "maneuvers" better. Then someone shouted, "Why those planes have a rising sun on their wing tips" and we realized we were being attacked. We ran out and saw planes diving on the field and bombing the hangar line. Machine-gun bullets flew around us. Anti-aircraft was in action - all in a matter of seconds. Another lieutenant and I drove to headquarters. The hangars were burning, as were ships in Pearl Harbor. Shrapnel fell around us. Anti-aircraft fire was effective by then and I saw one plane go down in flames into the harbor, another near Fort Kamehameha. It quieted for a while, but the planes returned again soon, flying high. Two bombs burst near our headquarters and I saw the big barracks (Hickam Field) begin burning. There was so much smoke it seemed as if the entire field was on fire. When that raid was over, our car had been hit by shrapnel. The planes returned again, but didn't do so much damage. We were ready. Although our bombers at Hickam were unable to leave the ground, a few pursuit ships at Wheeler Field shot down at least 10 planes. The way our men acted proved the stuff the American soldier is made of. We who saw our comrades fall will remember Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field until we die, and the grins of those Japanese as they swooped over, strafing our boys mercilessly with machine guns. We'll remember that when Japanese cities go up in smoke. Every man here is itching to get back at the "slant eyes". Since "J Day" every day is a working day. There are no more holidays. Morale is excellent. Prohibition has been in effect since the war began. Nightlife has been reduced to nothing but blackout regulations. During the day, business goes on as usual in Honolulubut after dark, except for the moon and stars, not a light can be seen. Policemen stop all cars to catch violators of military regulations. |
Information provided by Samuel Bradlyn. |
