81st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Herbert Jacobson-- Part 2

Continued from my RoadDog's RoadLog blog.

Herbert Jacobson's remains weren't identified until late 2019 after years of efforts by both the family and military DNA experts.  A burial originally scheduled for spring 2020 was delayed because of the pandemic.

In the meantime, more of Jacobson's remains were identified so the family will have more of him to bury.

"I just wish my mother and especially my grandmother could be around to see this," McDonald said.  "My grandmother would still be sad that she lost her oldest boy, but at least there would be a means of closure."

McDonald's late mother, Norma, was Jacobson's sister.  Their parents, George and Mabel Jacobson, met during World War I.  Like Herbert Jacobson, known to the family as "Bert," George Jacobson was a sailor in the U.S. Navy.  Mabel worked as a barmaid when they met.

The two were married on December 7, 1919, and Mabel named her firstborn son after her beloved brother, Herbert, who died at a young age.

Continued in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog.

Project Oklahoma to Identify USS Oklahoma Unknowns-- Part 2

Continued from my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog.

Bud Hannon's remains were unknown along with so many of his shipmates and were buried in graves marked Unknowns.  However, in 2015, it was decided that would have to be corrected.  Project Oklahoma began which was by and large reliant on DNA testing.

Said Carrie Legarde, a project lead for Project Oklahoma: "For a large project like this, where the remains are reallly commingled, we had to do a lot of DNA testing.  And so that's where we need family members involvement, because we need a DNA reference sample from the family that we can compare  to the remains."

The project takes time and involves labs across the country.  For this project, initial processing was done at  the defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency lab at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Field, then, further analysis at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and DNA testing at the Armed Forces Laboratory at Dover, Delaware.

"And they provide us thatn information to help us kind of piece together the remains basically, it's kind of like a big puzzle that we have to put together and sort out," Legarde said.  "And, once we can figure out which remains go together,  we can figure out who they belong to."

101-Year-Old USS Oklahoma Pearl Harbor Survivor Returns: David Russell

Continued from my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog.

Today, I will be posting about Pearl Harbor in all but one of my blogs.

David Russell is traveling to Pearl Harbor with the Best Defense  Foundation, a nonprofit founded by former NFL  linebacker Donnie Edwards that helps World War II veterans visit  their old battlefields.

"Those darn torpedoes, they just kept hitting us and kept hitting us.  I thought they'd never stop.  That ship was dancing around."

He remembers clambering over and around toppled lockers while the battleship slowly rolled over. "You had to walk sort of sideways."

Once he got to the main deck, he crawled over the ship's side and eyed the battleship USS Maryland moored alongside his ship.  He didn't want to swim over to it because leaking oil had caught fire in the water.  Jumping, he was able to catch a rope hanging from the Maryland  and escaped to that battleship without injury.

He then helped pass ammunition to the Maryland's anti-aircraft guns for the rest of the attack.

--Old B-Runner

The Day of Infamy 79 Years Ago: Remembering Pearl Harbor Survivor Wayne Rader

From the December 6, 2020, LimaOhio.com "Jim Krumel:  Remembering a Pearl Harbor survivor" by Jim Krumel.

Wayne Rader died twelve years ago.  He was just a regular guy who worked for the city of Lima  A dad, who with his wife Elsie, raised eight children in Lima.

He was also a Pearl Harbor survivor.  

For the longest time, he wouldn't talk about it.  It wasn't until a few years before his death in 2008, that he started talking about it.  When he did, his children wrote what he said down for posterity.

He was still a teenager when he entered the Army in March 1940.  Three months later he was assigned to  the 27th Infantry Regiment at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaii.  It was heaven to be stationed there until December 7, 1941, when it turned to hell.

Wayne Rader was on the second floor porch of the barracks listening for then bugler to sound church call when he saw the first two planes fly through the pass near Schofield Barracks.  He thought this to be an odd time for a training mission until he heard explosions coming from the area near Pearl Harbor.

Planes strafed Schofield Barracks on their way to Wheeler Field.

He remembered seeing rows and rows of body bags.

--Pearl Harbor

Mariner's Museum Commemorates the 158th Anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads

From the March 2, 2020, 13 News Now, Hampton Roads, Virginia.

The battle between the two ironclads changed naval architecture forever and altogether resulted in more U.S. Navy deaths in a single battle until Pearl Harbor.

This weekend, Saturday March 7, re-enactors of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas will be on hand

Plus, Tidewater Living History Association will bring to life through demonstrations and story telling.

Information will be given about the crews of both the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.  That night, History Bites will be back for a 7th year.  Beginning at 6:30 pm, Hampton Roads' top restaurants will prepare their best efforts at making 19th century foods for the honor of receiving the Cast Iron Skillet  Award.

Cost of the food extravaganza is $30 for members and $40 for non-members, but you get unlimited tastes.

Better Hurry Up and See the Role the CSS Virginia Played Before Certain People Have It Removed.

Sign Me Up For The Tasting.  --Old B-Runner

Marine Corps Honors Oldest Pearl Harbor Survivor John Campbell, 99, in Solana Beach, California

From December 6, CBS 8 News.

A Pearl Harbor Day luncheon commemoration was held at the La Vida retirement home.

He knows he is one of the few surviving members of that day still alive and that number gets smaller every year.  The exact number of survivors is not known, but the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper estimates the number at seven.  I imagine that number is how many in the San Diego area.

"It was a Sunday morning," Mr. Campbell said.  "It's a mystery, all day and all night.  What is this?  What happened?  What is going on?  But we knew they were real bullets.  One guy on each side of me got wounded."

He has written a memoir "The Campbells Are Coming."

--GreGen

Pearl Harbor Commemoration to Continue, Despite Death of Last Survivor in Inland Northwest

From the December 6, 2019, Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) "Pearl Harbor commemoration to continue in Inland Northwest despite deaths of aging survivors" by Kip Hill.

The death of Ray Garland, 96, the last surviving survivor in April this year will not stop the commemoration of the event.

The Lilac City Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association living in the Spokane  and north Idaho area once numbered near 100 members.  They would travel to schools, churches, bookstores to talk about their experiences.

For years, Vina Mikkelsen, 88, has been organizing these commemorations on behalf of her husband Denis, a U.S. navy radioman at Pearl Harbor on the USS West Virginia, who died in 2013.

And They Go On.  --GreGen

Oldest Pearl Harbor Veteran Ray Chavez Dies At Age 106

November 22, 2018, NBC News "Oldest U.S.  military survivor of Pearl Harbor  dies at age 106."

Ray Chavez had been battling pneumonia and died in his sleep in the San Diego suburb of Poway.  As recently as last May he traveled to Washington, D.C.,  on memorial Day where he was honored by President Trump.

Hours before the attack he was aboard the minesweeper USS Condor as it patrolled the harbor's east entrance when he and others saw a Japanese periscope  They notified a nearby destroyer that sank it before the Japanese planes arrived.

This is why we have to honor them now.  It is only a matter of time before they are no longer with us.

CSS Missouri and Other Ships By That Name

From the June 18, 2018, News Tribune  "Perspective:  A history of the Missouri Navy" by Sam Bushman.

This was a list and short summary of all the ships in the U.S. (and Confederate) Navy by the name Missouri.

The first USS Missouri was a paddleboat frigate built in 1841 that soon caught fire and exploded.

The second Missouri was the Confederate CSS Missouri built on the Red River at Shreveport, Louisiana.  It never saw action and surrendered at the end of the war.  It was found to be badly built and was towed to Mound City, Illinois, and scrapped.

It was never officially commissioned into the U.S. Navy, but many historians count her as a Navy ship.

The third ship was the battleship USS Missouri (BB-11) commissioned in 1903

The 4th was the most famous of all, the battleship USS Missouri (BB-13) where Japan surrendered at the end of WW II and now a museum ship in Pearl Harbor.

The 5th is the submarine USS Missouri (SSN-780), a Virginia-class fast attack submarine.

I'll write about these other Missouris in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

--Old B-R'er

A Pearl Harbor Timeline-- Part 4: The Second Wave Arrives

All Times a.m..

THE SECOND WAVE

8:50:  The second wave, consisting of 167 planes, attacks.  U.S. forces, now prepared, respond with heavy anti-aircraft fire.

8:55 to 9:00:  Japanese bombers attack Ford Island and Bellows Field, shooting down a B-17 with two pilots attempting to take off.  Other Japanese planes strafe Kaneohe.

9:05:  Bombers return to Hickam Field for an eight-minute assault.

9:06:  Attackers bomb the battleship USS Pennsylvania and two destroyers in drydock.

Continued in today's RoadDog's RoadLog blog.

--Old B-R'er

A Pearl Harbor Timeline-- Part 3: "Air Raid, Pearl Harbor. This Is No Drill"

Continued from today's post  in my Saw the Elephant Civil War blog.

All times a.m..

7:58:  Japanese planes begin bombing aircraft at Wheeler Field.

7:58:  The Ford Island Command Center, under attack, radios an alert:  "AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR.  THIS IS NO DRILL"

8:00  The USS Oklahoma takes multiple torpedo hits and capsizes in minutes.

8:08:  The first of multiple bombs hits the USS Arizona.  Minutes later, another bomb pierces the powder magazine.  The bow explodes and the ship sinks in minutes.

8:30:  The first wave of attackers withdraws.

A Bloody Mess.  --Old B-Runner

Day of Infamy 75 Years Ago: John A. Prosenjak, Schofield Barracks

Every year, I remember in all seven of my blogs.  Those battleships hit at Pearl Harbor owe a lot of their  technology from the Civil War, especially the gun turrets as developed on the USS Monitor.

From Youngstown, Ohio, Pearl Harbor Survivors Profiles.

JOHN A. PROSENJAK  Born 1913 in Youngstown.  Died 2004 at age 94.

Graduated from Ohio State University with degree in teaching and was a 2nd. lieutenant in ROTC.

Army captain in charge of Signal Corps company at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.  Discharged January 1946 and then in Army Reserve for 26 years.

Quote from his children:  "He told the story of Pearl Harbor to just about every high school, college and military class he taught.

Greatest Generation.

James Harmon Ward, USN-- Part 2: Commanded the Potomac Flotilla During the Civil War

James Ward commanded the USS Cumberland during the Mexican War (later sunk by the CSS Virginia in 1862), the USS Vixen 1848-1850 and later the USS Jamestown.  He wrote "The Manual of Naval Tactics" in 1860 while at the New York Navy Yard.

With the coming of the Civil War, he proposed a "Flying Squadron" to use against the Confederates on the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River and he was placed in command of it.  The USS Thomas Freeborn was his flagship and the rest of the fleet consisted of the USS Freelance, the USS Alliance and three Coastal Survey ships.  (I found no mention of a Freelance or Alliance listed for U.S. Navy ships during the war.)

Ward's fleet later became known as the Potomac Flotilla.  On June 1, they silenced Confederate batteries at Aquia Creek, Virginia.  On June 27th, at what became known as the Battle of Mathias Point, Ward sent landing parties ashore but they were driven back.  While engaging the foe to cover his retreating sailors, Ward was struck by a bullet in the abdomen and mortally wounded and died within an hour.  He was the first U.S. naval officer killed during the war.

Ward was the great grandfather of actor Andy Devine.

The destroyer USS Ward (DD-139) was named for him.    This ship fired the first American shot in the War of 1812 when it engaged a Japanese mini-sub before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Fort Ward, a part of the Washington, D.C. defense during the Civil War was also named after him.

--Old B-Runner

Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor-- Part 2: Western Michigan Men There

LOUIS J. HAMMOND JR.--  Hesperia,  US Army Air Corps, died Dec. 19, 1994.

FLOYD HENRY--  Grand Haven, died April 27, 1996.

MAX D. JENSEN--  Hesperia, US Army Air Corps, deceased.

LEO V. JOHNSON--  Norton Shores, Staff Sergeant, US Army Air Corps, 92

Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor-- Part 1: Western Michigan Men at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941

Every year, I observe this date in all my blogs.

From the Dec. 3, 2012, M Live.

Western Michigan Men at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, WITH DARE OF DEATH:

HARRY BRILL--  Muskegon, died Oct. 1, 1981.

RUSSELL E. BURKHARDT--  Twin Lake, US Army Master Sergeant, died Jan. 18, 1973.

JOHN CATES--  Muskegon, USN, Fireman 1st Class, died July 27, 1980.

JAMES E. FERRO--  Muskegon, nurse at Schofield Barracks, died Oct. 26, 1996.

In Honor of Veterans-- Part 3: Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery

The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery is in the northwestern area of what was once the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, approximately 50 miles south of Chicago (and on Route 66).

Congressman George Sangmeister, a veteran of the Korean War from Will County, was instrumental in the acquisition of 982 acres of the former Joliet Arsenal and its redevelopment as the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.  He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1988 to 1995.

The Congressman chose the Lincoln national Cemetery for his final resting place and was interned October 2007.

The cemetery's beautiful acreage includes a memorial walk that commemorates soldiers of the 20th century wars on 11 memorials.  An 18-foot granite obelisk, crowned by a bronze eagle with outstretched wings commemorates the 2,403 Americans who died in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.  It was donated by the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

--Old B-R'er

December 7, 1941

From the December 6, 2014, Whidbey (Washington) News-Times "Story of Pearl Harbor survivors to be shared Dec. 7" by Janis Reid.

PART 2

Continued from today's Saw the Elephant blog.  This is always a day to remember and be prepared.

Gail Vyskocil will share her late husband James' Pearl Harbor story as part of the Pearl Harbor Day remembrance today at 12:30 p.m. in the chapel at Ault Field.

The Cascade Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association has lost many members in the last several years and is now down to just a few.

Her remarks will come from a speech James gave.  James was a signal man third class that day.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

It was 72 years ago and one of those generational moments. I was not even born until ten years later, but always observe it. I am listing the name of one American who died that day in every blog. These were all men from Michigan's Upper Peninsula:

FRANCIS A. CYCHOSZ of Bessemer, Michigan. On the USS Arizona. His brother Raymond was later severely wounded while serving in the famed 10th Mountain Division in Italy.

The Greatest Generation. --Old B-R'er

Remembering a Naval Action in Another War: Pearl Harbor

Today marks the 71st anniversary of an event that shook the United States mightily, the attack on Pearl Harbor which brought the United States into World War II.

Even though this was ten years before my time, I will not ever forget to commemorate this date.

I have been making entries about it all week in my "Tattooed On Your Soul" World War II blog, including five entries today.  Just click on it on my blogs list.

Never To Forget.  --Old B-R'er