David Ormand Cutler US Navy USS Pennsylvania |
Information provided by Patricia Arie, Daughter of David Ormand Cutler |
I was fortunate that my father survived and was able to relate stories to me. I remember only parts and bits but wish now I had listened more carefully..... but that is youth and I never realized that it was so few years ago when I was growing up. Daddy was Chief Radio Man on the USS Pennsylvannia. I remember he told me they were at sea for 24 months and he didn't set foot on soil for that period of time. He was in dry dock but their ship was hit several tmes none the less. He told me one story about a man who had black hair, was trapped in some area where the water rose to their chins and was there for some extended period of time....more than a day....when the crew finally found them and were able to rescue them, the man's hair was white.. I am a Registered Nurse and I have learned not to say "that could never happen"... Now that I am older, I wonder about that gentleman and what happened to him. Dad had just finished breakfast on Dec. 7th and had gone upside to have a cigarette and watch the sunrise. He say the Japanese's planes come in and.... off course, he was back at his radio station immediately. I was so happy when I stumbled onto the USS Pennsylvannia site. I am so proud of my Father...He was a wonderful man and now I realize he was a hero...... My Father was a Mortician until his death. He also served as County Coronor, Lincoln County, Libby, Montana....He was a wonderful,. wise man, well known and respected in his community. |
