Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Stephanie Butler | 161205-N-YD083-005 NORFOLK - Naval Station Norfolk commanding officer, Capt. Doug...... read more read more
“It was the day after my 17th birthday,” said Hendley. “Back then you only had 11 grades, so I had to find something to do.”
Hendley was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, a Nevada-class battleship commissioned in 1916. On Dec. 7, 1941 the ship was moored in Hawaii on Battleship Row, alongside the USS Maryland. Hendley was taking a shower when the ship was hit by eight aircraft-delivered torpedoes. The ship immediately began to list, and completely rolled over within 10 minutes. Exiting the ship left the men naked and dropping directly into the water, which was covered with a coat of oil, they swam to the beach. Once they were on the beach they were given some clothing and rifles so that they could defend against an expected infantry assault.
Capt. Doug Beaver, Naval Station Norfolk commanding officer commented on Henley’s will to survive.
“There are two important reasons to remember to honor the survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor,” said Beaver. “First, you made it through one of the darkest days in American history and second, you remind us that we can never let our guard down.”
Craig Nelson, author of New York Times bestseller, Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness, was the guest speaker.
“We are here to remember that when great tragedy strikes, that is when we find the measure of ourselves as individuals, and the measure of our Nation,” said Nelson. “In the days after the Pearl Harbor tragedy, the great unrecognized heroes of that event were the men and women of salvage. They went to work, and of the 97 ships that were in the harbor that day, the salvage teams of the United States Navy restored all but 3 of them.”
The ceremony was concluded by a wreath laying and playing of taps.
| Date Taken: | 12.05.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2016 13:21 |
| Story ID: | 216604 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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