Herbert Hurd US Navy USS Argonne

Rising early Sunday morning, running bath water, getting ready to go to church.  Living down town on Miller Street near the Queens hospital. We heard the anti-aircraft and bombs going off at Pearl (pearl, was the short name for our naval base) My wife, Ann, was very concerned, but due to the information that I had, was that Japan had informed us all, both in Washington and in the city of Honolulu was peace talk. Saturday, December 6,1941 all battle ships were in their berths and all hands (except a small crew to maintain the ships).  Every one, for the most part went ashore and many parties were had in Honolulu; both officers clubs and enlisted clubs, which were thinking all was secure. The whole island, navy, marines, and army, had been on alert off and on for three to six months.  They felt the pressure of war and the restriction placed on all due to the threat of war. This seemed to be lifted.  So all the gun powder shells both small and great for our 16 gun turrets down to 30 cal rifles.  I repeat all was locked up which is the case unless the ship was out to sea and then only if the captain of the ship thought we were in danger or in war games. Very few people were awake or at duty stations. It was breakfast time.  And chow was being served to the small crew aboard the ships. When Ann saw the anti aircraft shells exploding she was very disturbed.  She called me out to look --- I thought it wasn't so --- I turned on our radio and heard the bad news that we were under attack by the Japanese. First we were to return to ship and/or station, then due conditions we were told to stay where we were. About the time it was mostly over we were to return. A shipmate in our units had a car, he said come with me and do not take the bus.  He knew a side road, which ran parallel to the main highway, and we could look down on the main road.  We saw an airplane swoop down on the cars and buses going back to their bases.   He had only one chance to machine gun the road, due to having enough gas to get back to his ship, as the Japanese ships were quite a way out. We went in the back gate as the last of the bombing was gong on and he let me out and I started running.  People everywhere were yelling at me to take cover.  I made it to my ship and they told me to get into work cloths and stay below decks.  The ship that I was on, while in transit to magazine island, was in for repairs, almost a re-building .  No superstructure, the boilers were out on the dock.  (I was part of the admiral's staff). I was the engineer to the staff motorboat and were changing from one ship to a head quarters on the island. To continue on, they tried to keep me below decks but I found a hiding spot and watched the last plane leave.  He was so low it was almost impossible to shoot the plane down with out hitting our own. By afternoon, we were given army rifles, 3006, and two bandoleers of ammunition.   Our orders were to go to the middle of the channel and draw fire.  That is, try to get the enemy to shoot us and not what was left of the fleet.  Being in the admiral's crew has its advantages.  We were not on demand and we took a ride around Ford Island (navy air strip on Ford Island) we viewed all the devastation.  All the battle ships were either sunk, turned over, beached, or never got away from the mooring place. As we were on the far side of the island inspecting the damage over on this side, we were slowly moving ahead, engine just idling.  I looked behind and a destroyer was coming down on us at full speed.  I told the coxswain "Full speed ahead a (can) destroyer dumping depth charges off its stern".  We pulled out of his way and I saw what I thought was part of a two-man submarine brought to the surface from one of the depth charges.  The depth charge close to our motorboat caused our motorboat to clear the water.   Our crew kept our motorboat in such good shape we did not spring any leaks.   We did all of our repair and upkeep and did it well, for it takes lots of hard work as one has to start with the smallest boat and work up through 4 different levels of boats to get to the admirals (gig) boat level, which you work for. We no longer got back from our inspection and we were alerted for another attack.  I ran to where my boat was tied up and someone had my gun and ammunition.   Also one of the crew was missing.  I made a quick inspection of the area.  My bow hook (one who takes the bow when landing or leaving a ship or dock.  He was hiding under a pile of lumber with my gun and ammunition.  I had to pull him out, lock his arm behind him and throw him down in the boat and do his job and mine.  Alert was called off and I believe it was just a test but I play for real. After the damage was looked over on Monday, December 8, 1941 all hands were given jobs to help repair and/or pump out the ships and get them into dry dock for repair.  I was sent over to the USS California, which was across the channel from 1010 dock where I was assigned to the USS Rigel, while waiting orders for magazine island.  Our efforts were useless in pumping out the USS California.                   A couple of days and we got nowhere.  The ship kept sliding down and our ropes kept braking so we had to let the California rest on the bottom and under water welders went down and welded up the holes.  One of the torpedo's hit the crew's mess and pancakes and body parts all on the other (bulkhead) side of the ship. I did not see my wife for about 10 days or two weeks and then for only for a couple of hours the first time.  Then it got to where I could stay all night.  I had to leave her with out any instructions on "what to do and what not to do".  So the women of our little housing units had to work together. The whole island was put under restrictions.  First obey all rules and regulations --- complete black out.  No light to be seen from the outsidenot even a little crack.  She obeyed and the whole island was like no one lived there. There was no information to her from me and neither from her to me. After a week, I was  allowed to say I was ok.  But the days were long, for we only knew what was happening where we were. We could only wonder what next.  I thought that an invasion would happen along the beach and Honolulu proper.  I just knew that I would be fighting hand to hand combat to drive the enemy back and to retrieve my wife.  I did not want their filthy hands on her at all, and, I was ready to go! God watched over us and it was our luck for me that I was able to save one of our crew from drowning. The men, which watched from the dock, wrote a letter which went through our chain of command and the admiral sent it to the Secretary of Navy. By this deed, I was asked, if I had a request?  In order to better serve those under me I needed more schooling. I requested diesel school. This was granted and a man with a higher rank than me was pulled off the list and I and my wife were granted concurrent travel from Honolulu to California and from California to Groton, Connecticut.  Basic diesel and then to advanced diesel in Cleveland, Ohio where I taught for two years. I made chief.  The highest enlisted rank.  Draw back, once you make chief you are automatically transferred where you have no friends.  Reason, no favorites.  One year of training for invasion.   Assigned to sec. Navy communication unit Okinawa.  Here we stayed for the rest of the war, but training for invasion of Japan.  I thanked God for the atomic bomb which brought Japan to its knees.

Information provided by Herbert Hurd.