The Japanese, engaged in a war it had waged against China since 1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these materials was curtailed by the West, but the Japanese conquests continued. President Roosevelt needed to send a stronger message.
The Pacific Fleet was Roosevelt’s “big stick” to keep Japanese aggression in check. En route to Hawaii, Carl’s fleet was ordered to stay indefinitely in Pearl Harbor to act as a warning to the Japanese.
When Carl arrived in Pearl Harbor in July 1940, he was assigned to the flag office of Admiral Kimmel (Commander In Chief, US Fleet) where he reported to the Flag Secretary, Commander Crosley. As Chief Yeoman, Carl’s duties included overseeing personnel and tracking ship movements. When he first got to the office, everybody was running around trying to figure out what to do. Carl knew the Navy had definite regulations regarding paperwork during wartime, so he suggested to Crosley that they decide it was “wartime” and break out the special regulations and get going.
After he got established, Carl had Lorraine sell the car and move out to Hawaii. She shipped over on the Navy vessel, Lurleen. Carl and Lorraine rented a little apartment on Beachwalk Drive in Waikiki Beach. They were a half-block from the beach and this was when Waikiki was quiet, undeveloped and romantic. Carl describes this as one of the most wonderful times in their marriage. They loved exploring the island by car; Lorraine was especially fond of visiting Diamond Head.
Their wedded bliss was shattered in Dec 1941 by the attack at Pearl Harbor. Carl was awakened that morning by neighbors talking outside their bedroom window. Carl heard one of them say, “I don’t think it’s a drill, because the ships and oil tank are on fire”. Carl jumped out of bed and looked out the window. Across the bay, he could see the Navy base in flames. He turned on the radio and heard that the base was under attack and all military personnel were to report for duty immediately.
Carl kissed Lorraine goodbye and rushed to the base. The traffic was so bad, that police were ordering people to park their cars and ride together. As Carl and his new passengers were heading to the base, Carl’s car hood was strafed by machine-gun fire from the Japanese Zeroes flying overhead. Fortunately Carl and his passengers were unhurt. This was the first that Carl was shot at directly by the enemy. When asked if he was scared, Carl says simply “I didn’t have time to be scared”.
When he arrived at the base, Carl was devastated by the destruction. Fires were raging, ships were sinking and the dead and wounded were everywhere. No one knew if the attack was over or if more planes were coming. Carl hurried to Fleet Headquarters, which was undamaged. His very first task was coordinating the incoming damage reports and outgoing orders for the Flag Office.
In the end, 2,403 men were killed in the attack and thousands more were wounded. 21 ships were sunk or damaged and 188 airplanes were destroyed. Of the 8 battleships that were docked in Pearl Harbor, only the Pennsylvania (Carl’s ship) survived the attack. It was in dry dock at the time and although it was struck by a bomb, it was not heavily damaged. Judged seaworthy, the Pennsylvania was immediately put to sea to act as the Flag Office. Carl moved the Flag Office on board and didn’t leave the ship for many days.
Carl’s duties after the attack were fatality and casualty lists, damage reports, unit transfers and research. One of Carl’s most important assignments was compiling the War Diary. Carl and his staff took the diaries from every ship and every command & combat unit on the base and compiled them into a Master Diary. Each minute was noted with everything that happened. The entries for 7:58am and 7:59am only had a paragraph or two. The entries for 8:00am and each minute thereafter had many pages of entries from all the attacked ships and combat units.
After the attack all military personnel were confined to the base; so once men reported for duty, they weren’t allowed to leave. Since all non-military communications were restricted, Carl was unable to call Lorraine for days after the attack. Lorraine was in agony, not knowing if Carl had survived the attack. After 3 or 4 days, Carl was finally able to call Lorraine and assure her that he was fine.
Carl remembers listening to Roosevelt’s stirring “Infamy Speech” on Dec 8. The president’s words gave much-needed encouragement to Americans, particularly those in uniform. Carl greatly admired Roosevelt and considered him one of our greatest presidents.
Commander Crosley knew that Carl was concerned about Lorraine, so about 2 weeks after the attack, he said to Carl, “We don’t have an atlas, I need you to go into town and buy one”. Carl didn’t need to be told twice. He took the boat to shore and stopped at several stores before he could find an atlas. When he finally found the book, he was free to see Lorraine for the afternoon. Carl remembers this emotional reunion fondly.
Many of Carl’s old classmates from Flight Training school were on the aircraft carriers stationed in Pearl Harbor and were killed in the attack. The few who survived were killed 6 months later in the Battle of Midway. After Midway, Carl found out (since he had access to personnel records) that he was the only man from the class still alive. Carl realized that being disqualified as a pilot 11 years before, as painful as it was, was the reason he was still alive.
Four days after the raid, on December 11, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, arrived at Pearl Harbor for a personal inspection. On his return to Washington, Knox recommended to Roosevelt that Admiral Kimmel be relieved. Kimmel was temporarily replaced by the Battle Force commander, Vice Admiral William S. Pye.
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