In Remembrance 12/7/1941

[LadyTevar]

Friday December 7, 2007
Pearl Harbor survivor remembers day of attack


After 66 years, Raymond Young's memories of Dec. 7, 1941, have faded at bit.

Pearl Harbor survivor Raymond Young has a picture of himself from his Army days. Young was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack by the Japanese. .. But he can clearly remember what he was eating for breakfast on that day in the mess hall at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.

"We had hotcakes that morning," the 85-year-old said. "We could hear this commotion going on outside the mess hall but didn't really know what was going on.

"We ran outside and saw these Zeros coming out of the sky," he continued, referring to the name of the Japanese fighter aircraft.

"One looked just like it was coming right at me. We all thought they were planes going through maneuvers. But then the bullets started flying, but I didn't get touched."

Today is the 66th anniversary of the attack that caused the United States to enter World War II. With the passage of time, fewer and fewer Pearl Harbor veterans are around or able to attend ceremonies like the one that was to take place at noon today at the Lee Street Triangle in downtown Charleston.

Young, who has emphysema, was not much more than a boy when he joined the Army in 1941. He joined that July because he couldn't find a job in Charleston.

"I was just 17 when I signed up but turned 18 later that year," he said. "This buddy and I had asked to go to Hawaii but they said they only had openings in the Philippines. Then the Army found two openings left at Schofield Barracks, and we took those slots."

He was an 18-year-old truck driver for the 13th Field Artillery when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor that December morning.

"Schofield was located several miles from Pearl. When the fighting started, we had no idea what was going on," he said. "It might have been the next day before we learned that Pearl had been bombed. All we knew was there was fighting going on. It was really like a fairy tale."

Young was assigned to be a truck driver when he arrived at Schofield, but there was a problem.

"I'd never learned to drive," he said. "They had to teach me to drive and get me my license.

"After the attack began, we rushed to the supply room but had to break down the door to get to the weapons and ammunition," he said. "They loaded up my truck, and I drove as fast as I could to the men in the field that were manning the anti-aircraft batteries. B Company, I think it was."

Young says the events seem unreal as he tries to recall them. He thinks that's because no one knew what was really happening as the attack unfolded. "We didn't know because no one else did either," he said.

He stayed in Hawaii two more years and then moved on to Australia and New Guinea, where he worked as a stevedore.

One day he was unloading an ammunition ship.

"A Zero came down while I was working a wench unloading the ammo, and it seemed to be just over my head, almost close enough to touch," he said. "A lot of the men were jumping into the water, but I just sat there. I was too scared to move."

Young's actions in the face of danger earned him a Bronze Star.

"They called it bravery, but it was just that I was really scared to move and that's the truth," he said. "I never got home with the medal. It was stolen from me on my trip home."

After returning to the States, he was assigned to The Greenbrier, which was being used as a a hospital.

"I worked the information desk," he said. "There were three phones I had to answer, take care of the teletype for White Sulphur Springs on the weekends, get passes for the troops, just a lot of stuff. I loved the job. It kept my mind going all the time."

He was discharged from the Army on Sept. 7, 1945, and returned to Charleston. He finally got a job at Union Carbide and retired from there after 33 years.

He always wanted to go back to Pearl Harbor for the annual reunion but never had the money to do so.

"I always thought someone with a barrel of money would get me over there, but that didn't happen," he quipped.

He and his wife, Jean, and their cat, Fluffy, live outside St. Albans. They've been married almost 20 years, and both have children from previous marriages.

He has some health problems that prevent him from doing everything he would like.

The American Legion Post 20 planned the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Ceremony at noon today at the Lee Street Triangle.

"I got a letter about the remembrance ceremony today, but the cold just gets to me," he said. "Maybe I'll be around and able to go to the next one, who knows."

[Rukia]

[frigidmagi]

He got lucky not to be in the Philippines, it went bad for the men there.

I have to admit I admire his truthfulness and it's sad someone stole his metal, it happens more often then you would think. My grandfather lost all of his when his jeep flipped into a river in Italy (now to be fair they were being shelled at the time so I think it's excusable).

[Rogue 9]

[rhoenix]

*nods in respect*

[B4UTRUST]