Arthur W. Buell US Navy USS Medusa |
During the early part of December, 1941, I was a MM1 (Machinist Mate First Class) in the United States Navy, assigned to a repair ship, the USS Medusa (AR-1). The Medusa was a battle force repair ship, with numerous shops on board, such as foundry, optical, machine, electrical, gun alignment, etc. My assignment was a lathe in the machine shop. The ship was moored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands, west of Ford Island. I had just gotten dressed and was in the machine shop about a quarter to eight, thinking about going to the mess hall for a late breakfast, which was served on Sunday only, when I heard a noise through the portholes, which sounded like explosions. My first thought was that it was the Army holding maneuvers, and I thought "The admiral isn't going to like this, he likes it quiet, especially on Sunday morning." I went to the porthole and looked out. I saw several planes in the air. Soon one of them banked so that the sun shone on the red circle painted on the wing, and I realized that the plan was Japanese, and that this was the real thing. About that time, the general alarm was sounded from the bridge, which meant that all hands should go to their previously assigned battle stations. Part of our duties in the machine shop consisted of closing and bolting the battle ports and securing several liquid systems valves, such as fresh water, so if the pip was hit, the loss of water would not be great. When this was done, there was no more to be done, so I ventured out on the main deck to see what was going on. The scene was utter chaos. The battleships, all moored in "Battleship Row" were the prime targets. Most of them were on fire, and already sunk or sinking. Fortunately, the Medusa was a rather homly ship and not a fighting ship, so we were hit only by the machine gun strafing. My reaction was typical. It was utter disbelief. We, of the old Navy, had been taught that a battleship was invulnerable, and there I could see several of them sunk or on fire. Besides, there was no war. We were at peace. It took a few minutes for it to sink in, that it was a war, and it was for real. I could see the smoke rising from nearby Hickam Field, and concluded that the Army Air Corps had also been surprised. A Japanese plane, on fire, came over the west end of Ford Island and headed for us. It looked like the pilot figures he couldn't make it, so he dived on the USS Curtis, spreading flaming gasoline over that ship. A miniature submarine, that had gotten into Pearl Harbor by slipping through the harbor entrance net came up the channel toward us, but was spotted by a destroyer just in time, and it rammed and sank it before it had a chance to discharge its torpedo at us. That night, about 8:00 p.m., I was assigned to patrol on the nearby land. By then the rumors were rampant that the Japanese had landed on the other side of the island and were coming overland to take Honolulu. I spent a very nervous night with only a rifle, but nothing happened. We learned later that the Japanese did not have a landing force and it was an air raid only. I stayed in the Navy and retired in 1958, but I'll never forget December 7, 1941. |
Information provided by Arthur W. Buell. |
