From the September 30, 2016, Ledger-Independent (Ohio) "Pearl Harbor survivor plans trip to mark 75th anniversary of the attack." Marla Toneray.
Jimmy Kimmerly, 93, of Manchester, Ohio, was 18 that day and a U.S. Fireman 3rd Class on the USS Medusa, a repair ship. His ship was anchored on the opposite side of Ford Island, in the middle of Pearl Harbor, from Battleship Row. His ship was hit by machine gun fire.
He graduated from Cherry Fork High School in Ohio in 1940 and wanted to see the world so joined the Navy. He was discharged in 1946.
Since 1991, he has made several trips back to Pearl Harbor.
--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.
Showing posts with label USS Medusa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USS Medusa. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Pearl Harbor Veteran Gets Special Salute in Final Month
From the June 6, 2015, Columbian "Off Beat: Pearl Harbor Survivor Gets Special Salute in Final Month" by Tom Vogt.
Martin Knapp died June 27, 2015, at 91.
He was on the USS Medusa, a Navy repair ship during the attack. He always regarded himself as lucky as the Medusa was usually docked where the USS Utah was that day. That ship was sunk, his was not.
--GreGen
Martin Knapp died June 27, 2015, at 91.
He was on the USS Medusa, a Navy repair ship during the attack. He always regarded himself as lucky as the Medusa was usually docked where the USS Utah was that day. That ship was sunk, his was not.
--GreGen
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Death of Pearl Harbor Survivor Robert McCullough in 2013
From the feb. 7, 2013, KRCT 7 ABC News.
Robert McCullough died jan. 27, 2013, at age 93. there are now just four Shasta County Pearl Harbor survivors remaining. The local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association no longer officially meets.
Mr. McCullough was on the USS Medusa, a naval repair ship, that day. he remembered: "I had been playing a little poker the night before, then sleeping in. We heard the racket that was going on, and went topside. Of course we saw the planes coming in....
"I saw the Utah being hit, torpedoes, and then sunk. And various ships being fired at, torpedoed, all hell breaking loose. After we saw the red ball on the wings of the planes, we realized they were not ours."
The helm of the USS Medusa is displayed at the Redding Veterans Hall
]--GreGen
Robert McCullough died jan. 27, 2013, at age 93. there are now just four Shasta County Pearl Harbor survivors remaining. The local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association no longer officially meets.
Mr. McCullough was on the USS Medusa, a naval repair ship, that day. he remembered: "I had been playing a little poker the night before, then sleeping in. We heard the racket that was going on, and went topside. Of course we saw the planes coming in....
"I saw the Utah being hit, torpedoes, and then sunk. And various ships being fired at, torpedoed, all hell breaking loose. After we saw the red ball on the wings of the planes, we realized they were not ours."
The helm of the USS Medusa is displayed at the Redding Veterans Hall
]--GreGen
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Fresno Survivor Remembers Pearl Harbor
From the December 5, 2014, Fresno (cal.) Bee by Nonhia Lee.
Joe Quercia, 92, was talking to a buddy and staring out a porthole on the USS Medusa when he heard gunfire and an explosion. "I watched all these planes coming over and (heard) the Arizona get blown up. When it exploded, you could sure feel that."
The former chief petty officer is one of the few surviving San Jonquin Valley Pearl Harbor survivors left. They once had 150.
Sunday he will join a handful of others in the annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony which this year will be held at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District. Quercia believes that there may be as many as ten remaining local survivors, but only four have attended the ceremony several years.
He grew up in west Fresno and enlisted in the Navy at age 18 and was stationed on the repair ship Medusa on that fateful day. The ship had no guns and was about a block away from the Arizona.
The motto of the now defunct Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is "Remember Pearl Harbor, Keep America Alert."
The local branch of it disbanded in 2011, the 70th anniversary.
--GreGen
Joe Quercia, 92, was talking to a buddy and staring out a porthole on the USS Medusa when he heard gunfire and an explosion. "I watched all these planes coming over and (heard) the Arizona get blown up. When it exploded, you could sure feel that."
The former chief petty officer is one of the few surviving San Jonquin Valley Pearl Harbor survivors left. They once had 150.
Sunday he will join a handful of others in the annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony which this year will be held at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District. Quercia believes that there may be as many as ten remaining local survivors, but only four have attended the ceremony several years.
He grew up in west Fresno and enlisted in the Navy at age 18 and was stationed on the repair ship Medusa on that fateful day. The ship had no guns and was about a block away from the Arizona.
The motto of the now defunct Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is "Remember Pearl Harbor, Keep America Alert."
The local branch of it disbanded in 2011, the 70th anniversary.
--GreGen
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Three Pearl Harbor Survivors Honored-- Part 1
From the Dec. 7, 2013, Daily Herald (NW Chicago Suburbs) "So few Pearl Harbor survivors left; 3 honored in Des Plaines" by Christopher Placek.
ED BLOCK, 23, a Navy barber, was sleeping on the USS Medusa after a night on the town drinking beer "just like every other sailor." Now 93, he said, "I looked out the porthole and I saw the airplanes dropping their bombs. I said to the other two men that were there, 'It looks like a sham battle' And then a second later, I said, 'Oh God, no. It's a war."
Only about 1,000 Pearl Harbor survivors are still alive from the 84,000 American military personnel who were there that day. Their numbers have dropped so low that their Pearl Harbor Survivors Association disbanded two years ago.
--GreGen
ED BLOCK, 23, a Navy barber, was sleeping on the USS Medusa after a night on the town drinking beer "just like every other sailor." Now 93, he said, "I looked out the porthole and I saw the airplanes dropping their bombs. I said to the other two men that were there, 'It looks like a sham battle' And then a second later, I said, 'Oh God, no. It's a war."
Only about 1,000 Pearl Harbor survivors are still alive from the 84,000 American military personnel who were there that day. Their numbers have dropped so low that their Pearl Harbor Survivors Association disbanded two years ago.
--GreGen
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