We saw them coming and knew they were Japs. I was on the upper Fire Control level above the navigation deck, when the attack started. As they came across the harbor, we could see they were torpedo planes. I was a first class petty officer at that time and was in charge of the 5"/25 anti-aircraft directors. My crew and I immediately manned our battle stations in the gun directors before the general alarm was sounded. About that time torpedoes started exploding against the side of the ship. We couldn’t get power to the gun directors or establish communications with the ant-aircraft guns. Realizing that our gun directors were inoperable, I elected to take my two crews to the anti-aircraft gun deck level and help place the 5" guns in operation.

A gunner’s mate and boatswain mate from the gun crew divisions were working to get the guns into operation. I detailed two of my crew to man the fuse setting mechanisms of two of the guns. Two other crewmen worked with me removing 5" ammunition stored in the topside ready service boxes. By this time torpedo damage and fire forced the abandonment of the guns and adjacent ready service boxes on the port side of the ship. When removing ammunition from one of the ready service boxes, A large bomb struck the top of the ship’s cage mast and would have struck the ready service box where we were removing ammunition, but it was deflected by the heavy metal coaming of the Signal Bridge.

I then went back to the Navigation Bridge to see if there had been any communications from the many shipmates that were trapped below decks without any means of escape except for the long escape tube between the Central Station an the Navigation Bridge. Along with a couple other shipmates, we helped at least thirty shipmates up an out of the escape tube. Captain Bennion was still alive but fatally wounded from bomb shrapnel that hit the No. 2 turret of the inboard battleship, the Tennessee.

Joe Paul, along with an unknown fireman, manned a 40’ motor launch and assisted in taking wounded to the Hospital Point and also recovered bodies from the harbor. It was a very sad and long day.

The West Virginia was raised, repaired, modernized and returned to combat operations in 1943. She was the only Battleship in Tokyo Bay during the signing of the surrender terms, which had been at Pearl Harbor December 7^th, 1941.

I retired from the Navy as a LCDR with twenty-six years of service and than worked for Aerojet Propulsion Company as an engineer and consultant for twenty-nine years. I shall always "REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR" ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF THE 20^TH CENTURY.