James K. Poppleton Patrol Squadron Fourteen (VP-14) Crew 10 Naval Air Station Kaneohe

I was a Third Class Radioman assigned to Patrol Squadron Fourteen (VP-14) crew 10.  The squadron was based at the Naval Air Station Kaneohe, Territory of Hawaii. I was in the ready room studying for my petty officers' Second Class Radioman examination.  I heard the planes flying very low.  I looked out the window to see what was happening.  "Doesn't the Army know the war games are over for the weekend"?  About this time a plane flying very low and strafing the barracks area was so close, you could see the pilot.  The rising sun was visible on the fuselage of the fighter plane.  This was no airshow.  We were under attack by Japanese aircraft. The next minute was a rush to the hangar area to protect the PBY's, our long range patrol aircraft.  IT was about 1.4 mile from the barracks to the ramp area where the planes were parked.  The smoke was rising from the ramp area.  I knew then that the planes were on fire.  It was too late to save the planes.  We were able to remove some 50-caliber machine guns from the blister mounts on the port and starboard sides of the PBYs.  This was a real hot job. Chief Finn took charge, instructing the metalsmiths to fabricate tripods, to mount the machine guns.  The placement of the mounts and the set up of belting the 50 caliber ammunition. I was put on the detail of belting the ammunition.  Duck Mallard and I were belting about 50 bullets to a belt and then delivering them to the gun mounts.  We were placing as much guns and ammunition we had in position waiting for the bombing attack.  The small firepower we had did keep the hangar I was in from being hit.  A couple of kills were made by the gunners. After the bombing was over, we tried to access what we needed in case another run was made.  I checked the teletype for any communications that could inform us what to expect next.  The only message I found was from one of our patrol planes, piloted by Ens. Tanner, saying he attacked a submarine near Pearl Harbor.  This is the same submarine the USS Ward attacked. About one hour after the bombing had stopped, my radio instructor from radio school spotted me.  He said, "I am ordering you to the Radio Shack at the headquarters of Naval Air Station Kaneohe.  We need all the help we can get".  I was on the circuit between Honolulu and Washington for 10 hours.  It was hard to convince the personnel at the Washington receiving end to believe what was happening.  It was not until Radio Honolulu had a power failure and we had to take control of communications between Honolulu and Washington.  The next two days I slept and ate at the radio shack before I could return to my assigned squadron. I am thankful that I was one of the lucky ones. Interesting notes: About a week or two before the attack, some shipmates and I were discussing the War in Europe.  During the discussion, we had decided that the best place and safest place to be with the war clouds in Europe was to be in Hawaii.  We knew that on the East Coast our counter part patrol planes were covering a lot of ocean searching for German submarines. The squadron lost seven PBYs on the parking area by fire.  One tied to the buoy was damaged, but returned to training flights.  Three planes were on patrol that morning and returned safely.

Information provided by James K. Poppleton