James Hamlin went to breakfast and then headed topside afterwards and bought a copy of the Honolulu Advertiser from "Sweatshirt" Clark, the only unofficial "paperboy" when the USS California was in port. He found a shady spot under the big canvas awning, by the No. 1 14-inch gun turret, which was set up for church service. The breeze, however, made it hard to turn the pages so he went below.
At 7:55 a.m. the ships' air raid siren sounded. Said Hamlin, "I thought it was a heck of a time to have an air raid drill. But, it didn't take me long to realize it wasn't a drill.."
The torpedoes shook the ship and dust started falling off overhead and they thought they were being gassed.
--GreGen
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.
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