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OAK HARBOR, Wash. -- Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) and the North Cascade chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association commemorated the 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, during a ceremony organized by Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129, Dec. 7.
The ceremony, honoring those killed in the attack, was held in the base chapel and featured speeches by Cmdr. Trevor Estes, commanding officer, VAQ-129, and Gayle Vyskocil, widow of Pearl Harbor survivor Lt. Cmdr. James Vyskocil, and the reading of two survivors’ accounts of the attack.
“It’s critical that we take pause and remember our fallen, our wounded, and not lose consciousness of the sacrifices by those that went before us,” said Estes.
Jared Hunt, cadet commander of Oak Harbor High School’s Navy Junior ROTC, read aloud the account of Harold Johnson, a Pearl Harbor survivor, who was the same age as Hunt, 17 years old, while serving on the USS Oklahoma during the attack.
“I was shining my shoes when all of a sudden the alarm went off,” read Hunt. “Everybody started squawking about having a drill on their liberty day then the announcement came that this was no bull. This was the real thing.”
Johnson’s account emphasized how short of a warning those in Pearl Harbor had that day.
“We’d just got moving when the first torpedo hit,” read Hunt. “It felt like the ship jumped out of the water.”
By the time the Oklahoma gave the abandon ship command moving about was near impossible.
“It was getting to the point that you couldn’t go up the deck,” Hunt continued Johnson’s account of the attack. “It was rolled over too far so I decided to swim for it. A seaplane was turned over in the water and I grabbed onto the pontoon and hung on.”
Estes emphasized the importance of the lessons to be learned from Pearl Harbor.
“I hope as the generations move on this day will continue to serve a greater purpose than just the anniversary of a horrific attack, that it will serve as a reminder to the world that we must plan for peace, but prepare for war,” said Estes.
After some time in the water Johnson and other survivors were rescued.
“Finally some boats from the seaplane base came and started picking us up,” read Hunt. “By that time I couldn’t believe what was happening. You couldn’t tell who was next to you because we were all covered in oil.”
Once in a rescue boat, Johnson got a good look at the state of his former ship.
“The Oklahoma was almost completely on its side with the mast in the water by the time they picked me up,” read Hunt. “First thing I thought was, ‘How many guys were trapped in there?’”
Estes expressed his appreciation for the service of Pearl Harbor survivors for their nation.
“Every survivor I’ve met, they’re the greatest generation, not because they served so long ago, but because they still serve,” said Estes. “They serve as examples of victory, examples of perseverance, examples of unbreakable will, and examples of what is right about America.”
| Date Taken: | 12.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.08.2015 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 183880 |
| Location: | OAK HARBOR, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 86 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, NASWI remembers Pearl Harbor, by PO1 John Hetherington, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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