-WiscoDave
Monday, May 29, 2023
Identifying the USS Arizona’s Fallen After 82 Years!
Even though it’s been 82 years since the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, those who lost family members on December 7, 1941, continue to mourn the loss. Most of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed in the attack on the USS Arizona went down with the ship and were never recovered. However, the remains of at least 85 (and possibly as many as 150) service members were recovered but not identified. They were buried, remains comingled, in graves at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
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My Dad saw the Arizona blow up. He was on the USS Tangier, a Seaplane Tender. She was tied up to the Utah. The Utah also has men on board her.
ReplyDeleteSlow salute.
ReplyDeleteThese brave men set the standard for others to follow. They set the bar way high. Throughout my life I have tried to live up to their courage, honor and bravery. It's been a hard lead to follow but I've done my best. I've thought about these men all day today. Imagine had your life ended in your teens or twenties. I have seventy-three years of life to look back on and cherish every moment of it. So many take life for granted or piss and moan po lil ol me. Be grateful for every second you live and give honor to those that gave their lives so you could live free.
ReplyDeleteIn my little town there were twin brothers. One was chief of police when I was a kid in the late sixties and early seventies. His brother was somewhere on that boat still at Pearl Harbor.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents lived next door to an old woman of the same generation who was quite the unsocial recluse. The property lines where the driveway was were a little iffy and my grandparents probably were encroaching in her land. As a teen, all I knew was that she was very unpleasant and likely to pop out and start screaming about the property lines every time I went over there to mow the lawn. Her hostility was a regular feature for years until she died. I later found out that she lost her only son on the USS Arizona. I was a little shocked to learn that, and suddenly I understood what was tormenting her. I suppose it Is a terrible thing to make such a sacrifice and see the rest of the world carry on with the trivial things of daily life. I wish I had known,
DeleteMy dad once told me he knew two guys who went down with the Arizona. That's all he said about it.
ReplyDeleteThe Menin Gate in Ypres has over 50000 names without bodies. The eastern front has millions, even the Rhine meadows hide many hundreds of thousand PoW's deliberately starved. The biggest killing is yet to come, and is almost here; look at the signs!
ReplyDeleteStefan v.
Even with all the years I lived in Germany, I had never known about the Rhine Meadows camp until just a couple years ago. That was a true outrage in my opinion.
DeleteAnd Dwight D Eisenhower knew and gave his tacit approval.
DeleteAnd I wager few of the frontline GI's that lost mates would have agreed with it. If it were a camp full of bankers, industrialists, activists and politicians that had been arraigned and found guilty....that's another matter...
DeleteStefan v.
It's tough to really lose a war.
DeleteWorse to think you won it.
DeleteStefan v.
334 men survived the attack on December 7th. 44 men have chosen to have their remains interned into the USS Arizona to join shipmates. The last man to accept this honor was 'FC2c L.F. Bruner' interned in 2019. 1 man is still alive but he has chosen not to be interned into the ship. But when the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command iDs the remains of the men in the mass grave at Punchbowl Cemetery as stated by wirecutter the families will make the call if they feel the Sailor or Marine would want to join their Arizona shipmates at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. My buddy is one of the park service divers & the family will hand him the urn than he & a Navy diver & will drop into gun turret #4 (which was removed on the Arizona so the guns could be used on shore batteries) & place the urn in the ship joining the 44 other patriots. Its a heavy ceremony that is performed on December 7th. Here is a video of the Interment of Ensign Joseph Langdell in 2019. God Bess American & our Armed Services.. https://youtu.be/N-6V7rqmqNg
ReplyDeleteI saw a guy wearing a USS Arizona ball cap at Home depot. Fit old guy he actually worked there. I looked at the cap and somewhat confused asked if he was on the Arizona? He paused a second and replied, "why yes, actually I was on the Arizona". I know my history and instantly understood what he meant. He was one of the guys on the hull that sunken ship trying to cut out (in vain) the trapped sailors tapping from inside the ship. It caught me so off guard that I started to tear up. He put a hand on my shoulder and very kindly said, "that's ok". I forgot what I was there for and had to leave. Didn't bother to thank him for his service.
ReplyDelete