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.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Life on USS Oklahoma Before Attack-- Part 3: 'We Were in 7th Heaven'

This interview is very interesting.  I haven't read much about what life was like on those old battleships before the attack.  I also did not know  about the collisions with the USS Arizona and Enterprise.  I don't know, two collisions or near-collisions might mean a problem somewhere.

This was from an interview with USS Oklahoma survivor Paul Goodyear in 2002.

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QUESTION:  What do you hear when the Oklahoma collided with the Arizona?

ANSWER:  I recall the scraping of metal, and crunching sound, but you are so busy, you don't pay attention.

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QUESTION:  When you were going above the armored deck, where were you going?

ANSWER:   I was heading toward the signal bridge.  (His station)

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QUESTION:  When did the ship pull in the first week of December (1941)?

 ANSWER:  It was Dec. 5.  I went on liberty  and went to Capulani (Kapiolani) Park and listened to 'Hawaii Calls'.  We put on bathing suits and went swimming.  We were in 7th heaven.  We didn't have much money so we couldn't do much.

(I am going to have to do some research on the Enterprise and Arizona collisions.)

--GreGen


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