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75 years later, Pearl Harbor survivors describe attack

112816...R PEARL HARBOR 1...Bristol...11-28-16... Pesrl Harbor survivor James Werner with a photograph of himself when he was 18 years old and had enlisted into the U.S. Army...by R. Michael Semple

When Japanese bombers attacked the American ships in Pearl Harbor, James E. Werner of Bristol grabbed his rifle, a stack of 20-round clips and shot at the planes overhead.

“I started spraying the planes at treetop height with bullets and I didn’t know for sure if I put a plane down,” said Werner, who during the attack was stationed at Fort Shafter in Honolulu, about two miles away from the harbor. “It was stunning … It looked like the whole fleet was demolished.”

On one of those ships, the USS Tennessee, Robert M. Bishop of Austintown was trapped below deck.

“I could hear everything that was going on topside, but couldn’t see anything,” Bishop said. “We didn’t get any fresh air for two hours, until after the planes stopped dropping the bombs.”

The two Mahoning Valley men, both 95, are among survivors of the attack that happened 75 years ago today. Both still hold vivid recollections of the nightmare that left more than 2,000 people dead and launched the United States into World War II.

Planes overhead

Werner, who at 18 enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940, recalled that on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, he and a friend were about to paint the ceiling of the officer’s ballroom at the fort, a job the two agreed to do in exchange for three days off. It was well before dawn when “we scooted up there to get it done,” but when he went to grab a smoke outside, his day changed.

“I saw these planes and smoke coming from the harbor,” said Werner, who recognized the bombers as Japanese by their distinctive red circle, which he said was nicknamed the “meatball.”

Because of the roar of another soldier firing a .50 caliber gun near him, Werner said he moved — but first he started to clean up the mess his shells made on the ground. He said it’s called “policing up” the brass, and was a lesson taught to him in the Army.

He said he then realized just what he he was doing and couldn’t believe it.

“I’m in the middle of combat and I’m policing up my brass,” he said, laughing.

That night, Werner said he and the rest of his battery dug foxholes and hunkered down, expecting another Japanese invasion. “There was all kinds of chaos, rumors there were transport ships out there that were going to invade us,” Werner said.

Two days before the attack, Werner recalls an alert that was issued at the base that had the men there begin assembling guns and mobilizing trucks into position at the harbor. They were also instructed to draw a one-day supply of ammunition, but the alert was called off, so the work stopped and the ammunition was returned to a cave in the mountains near the fort, he said.

Werner, who transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942, said he was also involved in battles in New Guinea and the liberation of the Philippines.

Werner recalls being called to the command post about a month after the attack by an executive officer to help read letters to home because they needed censored, when suddenly the officer shouted to Werner to go find a soldier after discovering something alarming in a letter he wrote to his mother.

The officer asked the soldier, “What do you mean writing in this letter to your mother, because she is a widow, you’re worried about if they take America? Why do you already think we are going to lose the war?” Werner said.

But there was a misunderstanding. The soldier was of Italian descent and his brother’s name was America, and the soldier was simply worried about his mother if his brother was drafted into the military, Werner said.

“Anyway, the lieutenant was on the floor laughing,” Werner said. “He apologized to the guy.”

On the homefront

He was sent home to the North Side of Youngstown in December 1945, and went about looking for work. Werner said he heard Packard Electric was hiring, so he went to apply and introduce himself, but was told by the person who did the interview the company wasn’t hiring veterans because they didn’t have experience.

“I blew my stack. I called him every foul Army name I could remember. I stood up, his jaw dropped open,” Werner said.

Werner said he returned home and woke the next day to his grandmother calling him to the phone. It was Packard Electric calling to ask if he could start work on Monday, he said.

“I often wondered, did I reach a conscience point in this guy or did I scare the hell out of him,” said Werner, who retired from the company 36 years later in 1982.

Werner, who was married five times, had three daughters and son. He lost a daughter and a son. Two daughters, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren survive.

Trapped below

As for Bishop, he said he was aboard the Tennessee in his general service station, the most heavily protected part of the ship, when the attack began about 8 a.m.

“My job was to the pull the trigger of a 14-inch gun,” said Bishop, who couldn’t because because he was confined to his quarters below deck. It wasn’t until about noon he was permitted to go above deck.

“The entrance to the harbor was full of fire and I didn’t know how many people we lost,” he said.

The Tennessee had been hit by two bombs, causing the deaths of five crewmen. The USS Arizona, which suffered the greatest loss of life during the attack, was moored at the stern of the Tennessee. The Tennessee, he said, was pinned in the harbor for several days after the attack.

“Afterward, we were all wondering what was going on … how could this happen?” Bishop said.

Bishop, who enlisted in the U.S. Navy in September 1940, said it’s difficult now to remember what he was thinking and feeling immediately after the attack.

“I lost some shipmates and that was not a good feeling but I don’t recall being angry. One of my friends on another ship was so mad at the Japanese he wouldn’t eat rice.”

Life back in the Valley

Bishop stayed in the military after his initial six year hitch and did another five years or so in the U.S. Navy Reserve. After that, he returned home to work and raise a family.

Bishop first took a job at Youngstown Welding and Engineering as a pipefitter, but then hooked on at Republic Steel and later at U.S. Steel Ohio Works, where he spent 27 years. Later, he spent 22 more years at McDonald Steel.

Bishop and his family returned to Pearl Harbor this year for the 75th anniversary for a reunion by the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, of which Bishop is a member. The trip was his eighth back to Pearl Harbor.

He said he does it to “honor my friends who were killed. That’s what it’s all about here, to honor our friends lost during the attack.”

Bishop is married, has three daughters and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

news@tribtoday.com

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