Russell J. McCurdy US Marine Corps USS Arizona |
At 0755 I was getting ready for liberty. I had just come off watch 4-8 orderly for Admiral Kidd. Air raid alarm sounded. I felt a small thud like a water barge striking us. I discovered later it was bombs exploding. General Quarters sounded. Then machine gun fire and our anti-aircraft guns came into action. I was on my way to my battle station located on the main mast some 85 feet above the water (a gun director for the broadside guns). I followed 2nd LT Simonsen USMC (one of our officers) up the ladder on the search light platform where I observed a large bomb enter the quarter deck starboard side. I took cover by placing my body behind the tripod leg of the mast and waited for the fragment and pieces of the ship to whistle past on both sides. The next second or so I proceeded on. Upon stepping off the ladder to the search light platform, I saw LT Simonsen, his chest riddled by fragments and machine gun bullets. He was dead almost instantly. No help could have saved him. At that point, I knew how rapidly one gets indoctrinated into WAR. The bombs and machine gun bullets kept coming as i continued up to my station. I made it to my control station where Major Alan Shapley, Sgt. Baker, Corp. Nightingale, Corp. Goodman, Young, and several other marines were stationed. My station was a great vantage point with full view of the entire Harbor. I observed torpedo planes in the attack and the pullout. The planes seemed only an arms length away. So close, and the pullout speed was so slow you could read their faces as they slid their canopies. |
Information provided by Russell J. McCurdy |
I observed the USS Oklahoma roll over like a wounded harpooned whale. Then the terrible explosion came which caused the ship to toss and shake violently. First the ship rose, shuddered, and settled down by the bow. This action gave the mast a quivering effect that turned our control station compartment into a dice box. We were shaken into a human ball. No one was injured. Parts of the ship, flames, and bomb fragments flew by reaching hundreds of feet into the air. The ship's mid-section opened like a blooming flower, burning white hot from within. Our entire magazine and forward oil storage had exploded; tons of TNT and thousands of gallons of fuel oil poured into the water. Black smoke billowed into the sky as the oil caught fire. Major Shapley was very calm and assessed the situation. Realizing all director controls were knocked out, and the ship was burning, he directed us to lie below for further instructions. The wind was in our favor for the risky descent. His calmness and skilled leadership gave me courage to remain calm and alert. We then proceeded down the ladder on the port side tripod leg. The heat was oven temperature, and the flames licked close by at times as we were protected by a slight breeze from the after port quarter. The rails on the ladder were hot, causing slight burns to the hands as we kept our balance while moving down charred bodies were everywhere. The passageways were a white-hot furnace. The wounded and burned were staggering out to safety only to face death shortly because of their charred condition. Most were blind, and many had their clothes burned off. I noticed LT. CMDR Fuqua trying to comfort many men with his calm and cool manner. This action and his excellent judgment throughout awarded him the Congressional Medal of Honor. My first Sgt. was on the quarterdeck, burned beyond recognition. I knew him by his voice. He called us marines champions. When the CMDR said to go ashore the Sgt. said "Swim for it, champions." He died a few minutes later in route to the hospital. A short while before, he had been fully dressed and directing us to our battle stations. When CMDR Fuqua directed the few Marines (who survived the blast) to swim to shore, Major Alan Shapley and several of us Marines headed for the beach (Ford Island). The Major led us through fire, oil, and debris while bombs were falling and the underwater concussion waves struck us repeatedly. His encouragement guided us all through that swim to a pipeline one half the distance to shore. While the Major was giving words of encouragement to all of us, his strength was weakening, but he still assisted a struggling Marine who was exhausted by his effort to survive. For that Major Alan Shapley was awarded the Silver Star for saving the life of Earl Nightingale. Now you know why Pearl (my wife) and I named our first child Alan. I swam from the pipeline to the beach alone, arriving in back of Naval Quarters. I proceeded through the back door of the fenced-in quarters. No one was home, however. I observed oatmeal cooking on the stove, so I took it off the stove and turned off the burner and went on to Ford Island Headquarters. I remained there until Tuesday PM helping with the wounded and assisting at the Armory with the machine guns post on top of one of the buildings. There we were engaged in that awful show of fire power on sunday night; the complete dome of tracer bullets that took several of our planes. My only injuries throughout the entire ordeal were slight burns to my palms from the hot railing down the ladder. My hearing was affected by the blast. My ears were ringing for several weeks. It took many days to remove the black oil from my hair, nose, eyes, and ears. I reported to the receiving station on the evening of 9 December. There I saw CMDR Fuqua again. He directed me to go through the clothing issue line and draw a navy work clothing sea bag. I recall I accepted everything except the white hat. I just couldn't see a Marine wearing a while hat. After a scrub down, a clean shave, and a good meal, CMDR Fuqua assigned me to the USS Tennessee. I went with several Navy men that night to the Tennessee. They had written orders; I had nothing. Try to tell a Chief Master of Arms on the USS Tennessee in a blackout condition that I was a Marine in Navy clothing; no identification, no hat, coming aboard for duty. Needless to say I wasn't officially signed in until a Marine Sea school classmate stationed on the ship identified me. I then was issued a steel helmet and put on duty (you guessed it) in the crows' nest atop the main mast. When the ship went to the states I was assigned to the Maring Barracks, Pearl Harbor, then to Old Naval Station, Honolulu. The question has come up sever times, "Were you scared?" Yes, one does get scared. Then you think, "Will I ever see home again? Will I see my family? How can I get out of this alive?" That's when you pray a lot and tell yourself to remember your Navy and Marine Corps training, stay calm, and try to be like Major Shapley and CMDR Fuqua. Those who have seen War carry unforgettable memories of their fellow men. After Pearl Harbor, I went to Marine BArracks, then I was assigned to the Navy down town Hanolulu as a Navy mail carrier. The mail went from the Naval Communication in the town to Naval Headquarters at Pearl Harbor. After one and a half years, I was selected, along with 200 other marines, to make up the only all NCO class to attend Officer training and become officers. We graduated 100%. I then went over seas and gained the 1st Marine Division. Made 4th wave landing on Peleliu and 4th wave on Okinawa then to North China. I became a sole survivor when my brother 5 years older was killed a month before the war was over in Europe. All my time after that was state side duty. Retired February 1, 1965. |
