The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Maryland's Last Surviving Pearl Harbor Marine Honored in 2013: Richard Crosariol

From the Jan. 18, 2013, BuyNet.com (Maryland) "State's Last Surviving Pearl Harbor Marine Honored" by Connie Hempel.

Richard Crosariol received a Marine Corps NCO sword, the oldest U.S. military weapon still in service.  He enlisted in the Marines in 1940 at the age of 21.  After boot camp he was sent to Hawaii and assigned to the battleship USS Maryland.  He is the last Marine survivor of the attack from that ship.

During his 20-year career, he rose to the rank of sergeant-major.

He remembers getting ready for mass that eventful Sunday: "The only thing I heard was a rap, rap, rap, from the bullets.  Soon the announcement came, 'This is no drill!  Man your battle stations!'"

During the first attack, the Maryland was hit by two bombs, but none in the second one as the ship was obscured by smoke.

--GreGen


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