Pearl Harbor -- Louis W. Nockhold

Today, I join several hundred men and women who were caught unaware on

a beautiful Sunday morning when the tranquillity of this young sailor’s

life was suddenly changed forever.

I was a seaman first class in the third division on board the USS

Honolulu (CL48), a light cruiser moored in Berth 21 of the U.S. Naval

Shipyard at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. The USS St. Louis (CL49)

was moored alongside to starboard and the USS Bagley, a destroyer, was

moored around the end of the pier from us. I was next in line to use the

division’s flat iron to press my white uniform so I could go on liberty

when a horrendous noise from the bugle sounded. It was nothing like any

bugle call we had ever heard.

Then Ensign Barnett, the officer of the deck, started screaming over

the general announcing system, but we couldn’t understand what he was

saying until the last phrase, “Battle stations on the double!” came out

loud and clear.

As I was running to my gun station, I cleared the hatch to topside and

looked over the stern of the ship and saw a plane coming directly toward

me. Then I saw big red spots on the wings of the plane, and I realized

this was not another drill on Sunday morning. An instant later, that

plane exploded in front of my eyes and disappeared. The Bagley had

ammunition at the guns for a Monday morning gunnery exercise and, thank

goodness, an excellent gunner. The next few minutes saw us breaking the

padlocks off the ammunition hoists and the gun locker so we could get the

ammunition and firing locks for the guns. The after action report

indicated that we were ready to fire our antiaircraft guns within four

minutes of the initial alarm.

The next hour or so is just a blur. I was busy helping keep ammunition

in the fuse setter so the gun was ready to shoot whenever a target came

into our arc of fire.

When the first lull in the action came, I looked over toward

Battleship Row, where I saw the ships burning furiously and a huge red

object like I had never seen before. It was the bottom of the USS

Oklahoma, which had capsized, trapping many men in compartments below the

waterline.

The USS St. Louis got underway from alongside and our gun was able to

fire in a much wider arc as planes came by, but an overzealous sailor cut

the main power cables bringing electricity to the ship. We lost all power

to operate the gun directors, and the guns could only be fired in manual

using eyeball estimates to set the fuses on the projectiles, so we were

not very effective after that. Then the ship lurched violently, almost

knocking me off my feet. A plane had dropped a bomb that penetrated the

pier alongside and exploded underwater, opening a large hole in the

magazine for No. 2 main battery turret and several “double-bottoms.”

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Honolulu participated in the

Aleutian campaign during the summer of 1942, and the Battle of

Tassafaronga the night of Nov. 30, 1942. Then in July 1943, Honolulu,

along with St. Louis and Helena and a squadron of destroyers, fought the

Battle of Kula Gulf the night of July 7. Sister ship Helena was sunk by

torpedoes with heavy loss of life. A week later, on the night of July 13,

Honolulu and St. Louis, with our squadron of destroyers, fought the

Battle of Kolombangara. Both cruisers were hit by torpedoes, suffering

severe damage in the bow of both ships, but with no loss of life. After

receiving emergency repairs to make the ships seaworthy, they returned to

the States for overhaul.

In January 1944, I was detached from USS Honolulu and returned to Los

Angeles, where I attended USC and UCLA in the Navy’s V-12 officers

training program and the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, where I

fought the rest of the war with a slide rule.

I was commissioned at UCLA in 1946 and served as a commissioned

officer until June 1972. During my active service, I served in cruisers,

submarines and destroyers. I commanded two diesel submarines from 1959 to

1962 and was submarine staff officer in the Plans and Policy Division of

Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, before retiring with more

than 31 years active service.

After retiring from the Navy, I taught school in the Compton and Los

Angeles Unified school districts for 19 years and retired from Los

Angeles Unified in 1991.

I have been a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Assn. for 20 years.

We are dedicated to the memory of Pearl Harbor and to those gallant

Americans who gave their lives for their country on Dec. 7, 1941. Our

motto: Remember Pearl Harbor, keep America alert.

Although we have pushed this motto as strongly as possible, the events

of Sept. 11, 2001, would indicate that our cries have not been heeded

very well by those in positions of power in our government.

I have just received word that the governor of New York is sending 600

New York police and firemen who worked at the World Trade Center disaster

area in September to Hawaii for R&R.; Their trip will coincide with the

association’s reunion. The Pearl Harbor survivors have been invited to

attend a reception for New York’s finest at the Hilton Hawaiian Village

Hotel, and the policemen and firemen have been invited to attend the 7:55

a.m. ceremony at the Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater on this

very morning.

* Newport Coast resident LOUIS W. NOCKHOLD is a retired Navy commander

who was a sailor aboard a light cruiser in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.