2 EyeWitness Accounts

James Willis Downing

Lieutenant, US Navy, USS West Virginia

Lt. James Downing

James Downing enlisted in the Navy with the understanding that war would eventually come.  He was hosting a breakfast for his church group on the morning of 7 December when the US part of the war began and he began to hear the explosions.  An antiaircraft shell landed in the backyard and James immediately drove down to the harbor.  His ship, the USS West Virginia, had been counter flooded and the USS Oklahoma, he could see, had already capsized.  The radio stations were broadcasting whatever information they had.

As postmaster, Mr. Downing knew his shipmates well and had access to their addresses.  After surveying his ship, he did his best to memorize the names of his wounded crew members so he could write to their families and describe what had happened.  Working close to a Navy tanker that was loaded with fuel, he felt he was living minute to minute, expecting it to blow up.

James recalled the Japanese pilots flying overhead like a swarm of bees and of being strafed by pilots so close he could see the color of their eyes.  “Survival instinct was kicking in.  The war became pretty personal at that point.”

He waded through oil that stood a foot deep on the ocean after rescue efforts which left him coated from head to toe.  Later that day, he headed to the hospital where he walked up and down the rows of beds collecting names and brief messages from burn victims to send to their families.

Sailors watch the USS Shaw bombing, Ford Island Air Station

Lt. James Downing remained in the US Navy throughout WWII and continued to serve during the Korean War.  He was 100 years old when he gave an interview for the 70th Anniversary in 2013.  His dates of service were 1932 – 1956.  This story is condensed from his original interview with the Veterans History Project; Library of Congress.

Click on images to enlarge.

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James Mitsuo Furukama

James Furukama

James Furukama was a 16 year old civilian on 7 December.  He was working as a construction laborer and had fallen off a scaffold the day before and was on his way to the hospital to have his stitches checked out when he saw the planes flying overhead.  James thought, like many, that maneuvers were taking place and he continued on his way.  Then, he heard the bombs and saw the smoke.  As he approached the hospital, the nurses thought he was a casualty.

When the smoke cleared, James worked with the construction crews to clean up the debris and help restore the damaged, bombed out and burned buildings.

[There were so many excellent photos in Mr. Furkama’s file, I had to make make a gallery for some.]

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James went on to be an Army Interpreter three years later, Service # 30113361.  He served with the 34th Infantry Regiment/24th Division HQ/ Language Detachment/441st Intelligence Corps/10th Army.  He received a Bronze Star for his heroic efforts in rescuing patients after the MASH unit he helped to set up was bombed during the Okinawa invasion.  His dates of service were 1944-1966, he retired as Major after 22 years.

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Political Cartoons – 

anti-third term for FDR

anti-third term for King Roosevelt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUT !!!

4 December 1941

IF THE “CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE”   KNEW ______   HOW DID EVERYONE FEIGN SURPRISE 3 DAYS LATER?????

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Farewell Salutes – 

George Ackehurst – Thornhill, CAN; RC Army, WWII

Frank Baker – GRanville, AUS; RA Army, WWII, 2/20 Battalion, POW

Rosella Gillis – Big Flats, NY; WACS, WWII, typist & USO

Raleigh “Bud” Fletcher – Coquille, OR; USMC, WWII & Korea, pilot

Frederick Havens – Riverside, CA; US Navy, WWII

Michael Lemme – Lake Worth, FL; US Army, WWII, Purple Heart

Neville Mudford – Matamata, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 4213337, WWII

Michael Ruckman – Collinsville, IL; US Army, Vietnam, (aurthor of, ‘Our Days Are a Shadow’)

Everett Shearburn Jr. – Kirkwood, MO; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Ensign, 7th Fleet

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A Blogger’s passing –  I am very sorry to inform the readers That Bill Hamilton, the smiling, Santa-look-alike who wrote as the FlaHam @ coping with copd, has passed away.  I learned this from the Chatter Master.