Life on the USS Oklahoma Before That Day-- Part 2: 'A Good Ship, It Was A Happy Ship'

Questions asked of Paul Goodyear who was on the USS Oklahoma.

QUESTION:  What was your average day on the USS Oklahoma?

ANSWER: The Oklahoma was a good ship, it was a happy ship.  Capt. Foy was our captain and he was a straight shooter.  We had to get up and do some cleaning and studied to take a test for the next rate.  We worked with other guys and tested each other.

We had to swab  the decks, but we never  holystoned the deck because we had battleship linoleum.  We didn't have the wooden decks.  We had to keep or area clean.

All our watches were on the Signal Bridge.  That was on the superstructure.

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QUESTION:  Tell me about the maneuvers you made in the Oklahoma.

ANSWER:  I think just around Hawaii.  I was  on board when we collided with the Arizona and then near miss with the Enterprise.

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QUESTION:   What happened with the Enterprise?

ANSWER:  I don't know, but the next morning our flagstaff was bent.  "Collision" was sounded and since we were below the armored deck. we had a hatch to go through to get above that deck.  We had a phobia about being  trapped down there.  That hatch was heavy and once it was closed, it was hard to open.  It was the same thickness as the armored deck.  We headed out so we wouldn't get trapped down there.

I remember right before we collided with the Arizona, nothing came over the loudspeaker but we heard the propellers suddenly reversing and we were up through the hatch.  We didn't know what was going on, but we were out of there, just to get above the armored deck.

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After reading this and knowing what happened to so many aboard the Oklahoma on that December 7, this is strange.  "We had a phobia about being trapped down there."

--GreGen