I was 10 years-old that Sunday morning, coming out of church with my elder sister to discover the congregation much chattering about events at Pearl Harbor. We were in a Navy town, and nearly all of us had fathers or husbands directly affected. That was the first time I saw a portable radio, by the way. All nearby gathered to listen.
Later I learned that an ensign we knew had been killed on the Arizona.Two years before, he had still been young enough to play with us on a beach in Villefranche, on the Med. One day he stole an abandoned skiff and paddled it back to the USS Trenton, moored in the bay. He climbed the gangway and saluted the flag wearing bathing trunks, with tar all over his legs. The Admiral did not approve.
I still mourn my friend.
Halstead Harrison
Dec 7, 2011