A Sailor Remembers Pearl Harbor
A dear brother who served in the Navy during World War II shared the following memories. He had been stationed on a destroyer in a naval task force which included the U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise. They were heading back to Pearl Harbor after spending some time at sea.
Shortly before arriving at base, they ran into a bad storm. During that time, one of the hawsers (a line used to secure one ship to another) used during a refueling operation became entangled around the rudder and propeller of the destroyer he was on.
It became apparent that fixing this would take at least twenty-four hours. The commander of the task force who was on the aircraft carrier ordered the group to stand by until they were free and could continue together. After the delay, they once again got underway, arriving at Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941—one day after it had been bombed by the Japanese Air Force. The Lord in His mercy had kept their task force—an intended primary target of the attackers—at sea until the attack was over.
A few weeks before this, our brother had been invited to spend an afternoon visiting an unsaved friend on the battleship Arizona. He faithfully gave the gospel to him. Sadly, the sailor refused to receive Christ as Saviour, and he was one of many who died when the Arizona was sunk in the attack.
Our brother also mentioned that months later, when his carrier group was involved in a major battle in the South Pacific, his ship was sunk one night. He and a friend found themselves together in the water, but they were missed by rescue vessels sweeping the area for survivors. The island beach, though still under enemy control, was about two miles distant. Because they were in shark-infested waters, the island seemed safer than facing shark attacks which would begin with the coming of daylight. So they began swimming towards the land.
While swimming in that inky darkness a bright light suddenly blinded them. They did not know if it were from friend or foe. Thankfully, it came from a ship which was making one final search and rescue sweep through the area. Not only was our brother rescued, but the Lord mercifully preserved and brought him home safely, after the war was over.
Ed.