Gordon Jones Pushed for A USS Pearl Harbor-- Part 2: And He Got It

He died August 24, 2018 in Chula Vista, California, at the age of 96.

Mr. Jones was at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii tending  PBY Catalinas (flying boats) on December 7, 1941, when the attack came.  Looking forward to liberty, he was in his dress whites when the first plane came swooping in very low.  At first, he thought it was a Marine pilot harassing the Navy.  That is, until the bullets started flying and bombs going off.

Most of the 30 PBYs at the base were destroyed and almost 20 of the men were killed.  There were dozens wounded, including his brother Earl, who was hit in the back by bomb shrapnel and disabled.

Afterwards, he island-hopped across the Pacific and kept a diary.

That would be interesting reading.

--GreGen