PEARL HARBOR DAY – BY LISS JONES

Pearl Harbor Day 2016

by U.C. “Liss” Jones

Can you just imagine you are young Sailor, Marine or Army, who just celebrated your 19/20th Birthday…sitting at a bar on Hotel Street, Honolulu Hawaii, with a new friend, a country boy from a southern state. The two boys were making plans for tomorrow morning, since it was SUNDAY …an excellent time to catch up on some sleep. On the way back to Pearl Harbor, and Wheeler Field, excited about tomorrow morning…

At a point in the Pacific Ocean…about 12 hours NW of Honolulu, another group of 19/20 year olds Japanese Sailors were completing their plans for sunrise in Hawaiian Islands. Unlike the U.S. 19/20 year olds, these Japanese sailors, whose plans had been set in place for almost a year, and practiced, daily until it became, second nature …. at about 4 hours out of Honolulu; Admiral Yamamoto gave the command; ‘CLIMB MOUNTAIN SURIBACHI.” Turning their bows into the wind…the Japanese Navy launched their Air Craft……..

Meanwhile in Honolulu some of the Islanders were assembled for church services….and a Fort DERUSSY, soldiers, sailors Marines, their dependents or girlfriends were settling for a day of relaxation…

LAST VISIT

At about 7;10 AM, the Japanese planes flying low through Kola Kola, Pass…PURE LIVINH HELL WAS unleashed on PEARL HARBOR , WHELER FIELD, AND SCHOFIEL GD BARRACKS…..WERE HIT WITH BOMBS, and strafing Machine gun fire!!…in the hour or so, those 19/20 year olds BECAME MEN on that day..

WW II had just started. D BIESS THEM111

Tomorrow the few remaining PEARL HARBOR SUVIVORS, WILLRETURN ONE MORE TIME, FOR SOME THIS WILL BE THEIR

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GOD BLESS THEM; ON ON THIS 75th ANAVERSERY OF THE SNEAK ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR!!!

At 7;00 AM Hawaii time (!2:00PM CST) I am asking each and every citizen, PLEASE STEP OUTSIDE… FACE WEST, ( A LITTLE SOJTH WEST) AND GIVE THOSE PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS, THOSE STILL ENTOMBED IN THE USS ARIZONA A MOMENT OF SILENCE…

The below is from a Hawaiian friend of mine and is a first hand report of Dec 7, 1941…., He later made the Army a Career….hope you don’t mind me sharing George…

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE,

JUST ABOUT THIS TIME, 71 YEARS AGO I STOOD IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE WATCHING AIRCRAFTS WITH A BIG RED BALL INSIGNIA ON THE WINGS AND SIDE OF AIRCRAFT. WE THOUGHT IT WAS

A WAR GAME BETWEEN THE ARMY AIR CORP AND THE NAVY AND MARINE AIR STATIONS LOCATED JUST ACROSS FROM OUR VILLAGE AT THE EWA SUGAR PLANTATION. AS THE PLANES
SWOOPED DOWN ABOVE OUR HOUSE, WE OBSERVED THIS PILOT WAVING AT US AND OF COURSE..WE WAVED BACK! THEN………RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT WITH EMPTY SHELL CASINGS FALLING
ALL OVER NEARBY AS PLANES AFTER PLANES RACKED THE AREA WITH MACHINE GUN FIRE. THEN FROM THE EAST, FAR IN A DISTANCE WE WATCH PLANES WITH LONG TORPEDOES FLYING
TOWARDS PEAR HARBOR. THAN A HUGE FIRE BALL FOLLOWED BY EXPLOSIONS. IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE WE FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS A REAL ATTACK AND THAT WE MUST PREPARE
FOR AN INVASION FORCE TO FOLLOW. MY YOUNGER BROTHER AND MYSELF DUG A “BOMB SHELTER” IN BACK OF OUR YARD. I TOOK OUT MY “BICYCLE PUMP” B.B. SHOT RIFLE WITH FOUR
CONTAINERS LOADED WITH B.B. SHOTS. I TAPED A BUTCHER KNIFE AT THE END OF THE BARREL AND WAITED THEM TO COME. THOSE “ASS HOLES” NEVER CAME!!@!!@
AND THAT PILOT WHOM WE ALL SAW WAVING AT US……”TO THIS DAY, I THINK THAT HE WAS NOT WAVING TO GREET US!!!!!! HE WAS WAVING HIS ARMS FOR US TO GET OUT OF THE WAY FOR HE IS ABOUT TO “BLAZE AWAY THE AREA WITH MACHINE GUN FIRE”…OH YES, I WAS ALL OF 13 YEARS OLD AT THAT TIME..

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

GEORGE

U. C. “Liss” Jones

CPT, MP

USA, Retired