Just before eight o’clock on a Sunday morning in December 7, 1941, a Japanese plane appeared in the skies over Pearl Harbor, signalling the beginning of the devastating surprise attack on the U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii.
By the time Japan’s forces withdrew, they had managed to destroy or damage more than 300 American planes and nearly 20 naval vessels, including eight battleships. The attack killed more than 2,300 American service members, with total U.S. casualty figures topping 3,400.
The day after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
In these videos, drawn from the 2016 History Channel special "The Last Word: 75 Years After Pearl Harbor," U.S. Navy veterans share their first-hand experiences during the historic attack and the war that followed. They discuss their motivations for joining the Navy, their first impressions of the naval base at Pearl Harbor and the many ways in which their lives—and the world—were changed irrevocably by the events of December 7, 1941.
Paths to Pearl Harbor
With the country mired in the Great Depression, Ed Schuler, Jack Rogo and Nelson Mitchell joined the Navy in part for financial reasons. Some followed boyhood dreams of adventure: Jim Garner quit high school to join, and remembers he was “looking for something exciting.” Texan Jack Holder recalls being thrilled with the opportunity to go to Hawaii, while Bob Fernandez wanted to make some extra money and see the world. “What did I get into?” he says. “War.”
Voices:
Ed Schuler, age 95, fire controlman, USS Phoenix (died in 2020)
Jack Rogo, age 95, storekeeper, NAS Ford Island (died in 2019)
Nelson Mitchell, age 96, steward, USS Jarvis (died in 2018)
Jim Garner, age 93, radioman, USS Helena
Stu Hedley, age 95, gunpointer, USS West Virginia (died in 2021)
Jack Holder, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, PBY Catalina at NAS (Naval Air Station) Ford Island (died in 2023)
Ray Chavez, age 104, seaman, USS Condor (died in 2018)
Bob Fernandez, age 92, seaman, USS Curtiss
Caught by Surprise
On the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, Ed Schuler was enjoying some sunshine on the deck of his ship, while Mickey Ganitch was preparing to play in a football tournament. “Suddenly we heard a buzzing that kept getting…bigger and bigger,” recalls Lynn “Doc” Munger. Some thought it was a drill, but when the torpedo planes got close enough, the shocked seamen could see Japan’s rising sun insignia on them. “Then we knew we were for real—in the war,” Munger says.
Voices:
Ed Schuler, age 95, fire controlman, USS Phoenix (died in 2020)
Mickey Ganitch, age 97, quartermaster, USS Pennsylvania (died in 2022)
Jack Holder, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, PBY Catalina at NAS (Naval Air Station) Ford Island (died in 2023)
Lynn “Doc” Munger, age 98, pharmacist’s mate, Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital (died in 2017)
Aaron Cook, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, NAS Ford Island (died in 2019)
Nelson Mitchell, age 96, steward, USS Jarvis (died in 2018)
Davis Mayes, age 97, radioman, USS Solace (died in 2019)
Stu Hedley, age 95, gunpointer, USS West Virginia (died in 2021)
The First Wave
As the first wave of Japanese bombers hit Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy servicemen recall the deafening noise, planes thick in the sky and the air filled with smoke and debris. “Bullets were landing all around me,” Paul Kennedy remembers. Jack Holder recalls hiding in a ditch with his fellow seamen as one of the Japanese pilots fired straight at them, missing them by a few feet. Despite being at a heavy disadvantage, they found a way to fight back. “I think everyone knew it was a personal attack down there,” says Jim Garner.
Voices:
J.C. Alston, age 93, seaman, USS California (died in 2021)
Paul Kennedy, age 96, signalman, USS Sacramento (died in 2017)
Bob Fernandez, age 92, seaman, USS Curtiss
Jack Holder, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, PBY Catalina at NAS (Naval Air Station) Ford Island (died in 2023)
Alfred Rodriguez, age 95, seaman, USS Bobolink (died in 2019)
Gordon Jones, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, PBY Catalina at NAS Kaneohe Bay (died in 2018)
Charlie Boswell, age 95, fireman, USS Tennessee (died in 2019)
James Leavelle, age 96, storekeeper, USS Whitney (died in 2019)
Don Stratton, age 94, seaman, USS Arizona (died in 2020)
John Mathrusse, age 93, seaman, NAS Ford Island (died in 2019)
Jim Garner, age 93, radioman, USS Helena
Destruction on Battleship Row
A primary target of Japan’s attack was the row of seven U.S. battleships moored along so-called “Battleship Row.” More than two dozen Japanese planes rained torpedoes down on the fleet, with more than 20 of them finding their targets. Navy veteran Mickey Ganitch, who served on the USS Pennsylvania, recalls the giant fireball produced when ammunition on the ship exploded, and says he was burned over 65-70 percent of his body. Others recall hundreds of U.S. seamen jumping from the ships into oil-covered water. “You didn’t have no choice,” J.C. Alston says. “You go down with the ship or you jump in the water.”
Voices:
Jim Dewitt, age 95, yeoman, USS Antares (alive as of Dec 2022)
James Leavelle, age 96, storekeeper, USS Whitney (died in 2019)
Paul Kennedy, age 96, signalman, USS Sacramento (died in 2017)
Stu Hedley, age 95, gunpointer, USS West Virginia (died in 2021)
Don Stratton, age 94, seaman, USS Arizona (died in 2020)
Mickey Ganitch, age 97, quartermaster, USS Pennsylvania (died in 2022)
Jim Downing, age 103, gunner’s mate, USS West Virginia (died in 2018)
Jack Holder, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, PBY Catalina at NAS (Naval Air Station) Ford Island (died in 2023)
J.C. Alston, age 93, seaman, USS California (died in 2021)
Reaction to the Attack
“Our country was definitely not ready for a war,” recalls Navy veteran Paul Kennedy. While public opinion had been divided in the United States about entering World War II, that all changed after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Jack Holder recalls Admiral Yamamoto’s observation that his forces had “awakened a sleeping giant.” Americans lined up to enlist in the armed forces, and the civilian population mobilized en masse to help the war effort. “The women…stepped in and did the jobs that the men were doing,” says Mickey Ganitch, while Lester Hartley recalls how “every civilian in some manner or another fought the war.”
Voices:
Paul Kennedy, age 96, signalman, USS Sacramento (died in 2017)
Jack Holder, age 94, aviation machinist’s mate, PBY Catalina at NAS (Naval Air Station) Ford Island (died in 2023)
John Mathrusse, age 93, seaman, NAS Ford Island (died in 2019)
Mickey Ganitch, age 97, quartermaster, USS Pennsylvania (died in 2022)
Stu Hedley, age 95, gunpointer, USS West Virginia (died in 2021)
Lester Hartley, age 94, fireman, USS Jarvis (died in 2018)
Learning of Japan's Surrender
Navy veteran Mickey Ganitch recalls arriving at Okinawa on August 12, 1945, and the Japanese torpedo that hit his ship, the USS Pennsylvania, that night. “I was so busy…trying to identify my own mens’ bodies there…while the word got spread out to all the people there that the Japanese asked for peace.” Other veterans discuss the immense relief they felt when they learned of Japan’s unconditional surrender, and realized they would be heading home for good. “It took all the weight off,” says J.C. Alston. “We fought the enemy, we defeated the enemy, and that was the end of it,” says Jack Rogo. “You just hope in the future that it never happens again.”
Voices:
Mickey Ganitch, age 97, quartermaster, USS Pennsylvania (died in 2022)
Jim Garner, age 93, radioman, USS Helena
J.C. Alston, age 93, seaman, USS California (died in 2021)
Davis Mayes, age 97, radioman, USS Solace (died in 2019)
Ed Schuler, age 95, fire controlman, USS Phoenix (died in 2020)
Stu Hedley, age 95, gunpointer, USS West Virginia (died in 2021)
Jack Rogo, age 95, storekeeper, NAS Ford Island (died in 2019)
Nelson Mitchell, age 96, steward, USS Jarvis (died in 2018)
Ray Chavez, age 104, seaman, USS Condor (died in 2018)
Lasting Impact of War
Veterans speak of the psychological strain of surviving the Pearl Harbor attack and the war that followed, including their experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “I didn’t get any wounds,” says Ray Chavez; instead, he describes shaking more and more after each battle, until it got so bad he couldn't write his own name. Paul Kennedy says he was sent home and told not to talk about his PTSD. “That’s the worst thing you can do,” he says. “You’ve got to get it out of your system; you’ve got to talk about it.” Jack Rogo had nightmares for many years, and they only eased after he started talking about his experiences. “I haven’t had one in a long, long time,” he says.
Voices:
Lynn “Doc” Munger, age 98, pharmacist’s mate, Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital (died in 2017)
Charlie Boswell, age 95, fireman, USS Tennessee (died in 2019)
Ray Chavez, age 104, seaman, USS Condor (died in 2018)
Paul Kennedy, age 96, signalman, USS Sacramento (died in 2017)
Jack Rogo, age 95, storekeeper, NAS Ford Island (died in 2019)
