Walter S. Morley US Navy USS Bagley |
The morning of December 7, 1941, was a Sunday morning, and Sunday being a day of rest in the Fleet, it was not unnatural that a large part of the crew was still abed despite the fact that it was nearly 0800. I was roused from my slumbers by the alarm, urgency in its every squawk, frantically summoning the crew to general quarters. Pulling on dungaree shirt and trousers and jumping into my shoes, I raced up the ladder and arrived at the after deckhouse door in time to see a plane with a red ball painted on its fuselage, machine guns spewing , drop a torpedo and roar skyward. I saw the tin fish strike the West Virginia aft, sending up a great geyser of muddy water then I hurried forward. The sky was filled with Japanese planes, and the explosions of bombs and torpedoes and the staccato ping of machine guns filled the air with an awful din. As I rushed forward, I glanced back at the West Virginia she was already listing to port. The rage that welled up in my breast would have been useful were my hands on the throat of one of our aggressors, but under the circumstances it only left me frustrated and sick at heart. At the break of the forecastle on the starboard side, I paused to watch some enemy planes strafing Hickam Field but was sent on my way by the bark of an officer (Lt. Hunnicutt) inquiring whether or not I was at my station. That was my last view of the terrific bombardment of Pearl Harbor. I went to my station in #2 magazine on the very keel of the sip where I remained in ill-restrained curiosity and anxiety for nearly nine hours. USS Bagley got underway from cold iron in record time with Lt. P.W. Cann in command and Lt. (jg) Hunnicutt as executive officer in the absence of the captain and the executive officer. We headed after the fleet, which had already left in search of enemy craft, at high speed despite the fact that our bilge keel was separated from the hull for many feet and was banging around threateningly. But, we were recalled to patrol off Honolulu, where we operated on December 8, 9, and 10. Many sampans were apprehended during this time, and we ourselves escorted one into Honolulu Harbor and turned it over to the Coast Guard. On December 10, Bagley went into Pearl Harbor, and the sights that fell upon our eyes touched the heart of every man. On our starboard side at the entrance to the channel a torpedo plane, looking forlorn and deserted lay in the shallow water a herald of what was yet to be seen. Further up the channel, the Nevada lay close to shore where she had been beached after being torpedoed. Next was California, also lying on the bottom, her decks awash. At the battleship moorings near Ford Island, Oklahoma, on her starboard side, had the Maryland, not badly damaged, hemmed in against the cement pilings. West Virginia, hard hit, had Tennessee in a like position. Arizona, at the end of the line, was burned and twisted pile of scrap iron. Internal explosions had blown the life out of her with a great toll of men. In dry dock, Pennsylvania had not fared badly. A five-inch gun had been blown off. Two destroyers, Cassin and Downs in the same dry dock, were badly hit. Shaw in the floating dock, was badly damaged forward. Utah, used a s a mobile target for bombing practice, was on her side. Vestal, down at the stern, had left the side of the Arizona during the attack and had been run aground. Raleigh had been hit by a bomb, which ripped its way from the bridge to the keel, causing extensive damage but failing to explode. Oglala was on her side. Many planes were destroyed at the Naval Air Station on Ford Island, and two large hangars were ravaged by fire. Such was the sickening list of destruction that was unrolled before us. We tied up to a buoy, refueled ship, and a repair party cut off our flapping section of bilge keel. All was hustle and bustle as ammunition and stores were brought aboard, and the deck hands started painting the ship blue. |
Information provided by Walter S. Morley. |
Rate / Rank MM1 Service Branch USN Service Dates 1/1939 - 1/1946 Born 7/16/1919 UPTON, MA |
