Harry Davis US Navy USS Solace |
In 1941 I was on the USS Indianapolis and was transferred to the USS Solace for an operation in early November. I was operated on 27th of November and was just up and around when the attack came. I heard the planes and looked out of the porthole in the ship [with a quartermaster who was on board]. We saw smoke and bombs dropping in the water. I thought it was our pilots on a mock raid, but when I saw the red ball on the planes I knew it was an attack by the Japes. The USS Solace berthed near the USS Arizona. I saw a bomb drop down a hatch near a turret. It hit near a powder magazine, because a big ball of fire came out, and the whole ship seemed to bulge out. There was black smoke coming out of all the seams of the ship. The explosion opened up all the seams of the ship. The USS Arizona sank almost instantly taking a lot of Sailors with it. There were waves after waves of plains. Also I thought that we were being invaded. I was sent to the operating room to help set arms and legs, to hold sailors down while the doctors operated on them. The next day I was put in charge of the autoclave to sterilize the instruments. On board was a very good trumpet player. He was a grade behind me in high school. His name was Williams. |
Information provided by Harry Davis. |
