The Pearl Harbor Blog

Seventy years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, news of survivors continue to be written across the country and around the world. This week in the news, stories about Pearl Harbor survivors were published by several media outlets.

Pearl Harbor survivor from Rome receives Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal

Pearl Harbor shipfitter Sylvester “Syl” Puccio of Rome, New York, was aboard the USS West Virginia when the attacks by Japanese airbombers came down upon the American battleships stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Puccio reacted quickly to the emergency situation. In fact, when the ship was listing 28 degrees, Puccio realized the keys to the compartment that would initiate counterflooding were in a different section of the ship.

Instead of scrambling to find the keys—he didn’t have time to do so—Puccio “took a large crank from the cable towing reel and attacked the hinges and demolished the locker door.”

The Post-Standard in Syracuse, New York writes:

“After peeling back the door, Puccio cranked open the counter flooding tank valves on the starboard side, allowing the ship to right itself. Without it, the USS West Virginia likely would have suffered the same fate as the nearby USS Oklahoma, which turned upside down in eight minutes, trapping more than 400 people.”

Read the original story here.

Reed stationed at Pearl Harbor, remembers Japanese attack

John Reed is a Pearl Harbor survivor.

When Reed had just finished eating breakfast and was headed out to do his regular duties at Pearl Harbor, he looked to the sky and knew in a instant: a war was beginning.

Japanese bomber planes came flying in over headed, attacking the battleships and airfields throughout the area.

“I remember rushing down to the armory with others to get rifles, shotguns and pistols to fire back,” Reed told the Lincoln County Journal.

Read the full story here.

Senate memorializes Merrick Pearl Harbor survivor

Pearl Harbor survivor Bill Halleran was recently memorialized in the New York State Senate’s official record by the state senator. Halleran, a Merrick, New York resident, passed away in December 2011. He was 93.

Halleran served in the Navy from 1939 to 1945 and was aboard the USS Phoenix during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Bill Halleran was a very special person who loved his country and community and served them both with distinction,” said New York State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr, as published in the LI Herald of Nassau County.

“Whether it was as a member of the Navy, as an American Legion member or a volunteer fireman, Bill never hesitated to lend a helping hand to those in need. I’m pleased that the Senate paid tribute to an incredible man who leaves behind an incredible legacy.”

Read the full story here.

As times passes , the attacks on Pearl Harbor are increasingly becoming a historic event noted in history books and documentary films. As of 2012, less than 3,000 Pearl Harbor survivors remain alive in the world.

These survivors continue to share their story of December 7, 1941, with the generations of Americans and world citizens too young to have lived during that monumental era.

Pearl Harbor Survivor John A. Rauschkolb, 91, remembers that fateful day. He recently shared his story with high school students at Atwater High School near Merced, California, located about 50 miles east of San Jose.

Photo by MARCI STENBERG via mercedsunstar.com Pearl Harbor survivor John A. Rauschkolb talks to students in a World History class, Thursday, Feb. 02, 2012.

Rauschkolb recalled the early morning surprise attacks when Japanese aircraft flew into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and bombed the naval base, American battleships, and airfields.

“The attack was hell,” Rauschkolb told the Merced Sun-Star newspaper. “There is no other way to explain it. The stench of human flesh burning in my nose remains to this day.”

He was just 20 years old at the time, a sailor on the USS West Virginia. Nearly 2,400 people died that day, and 1,700 were injured.

But recalling those events at Atwater High this February is not the first time Rauschkolb has shared his story with students.

Every year for the past five years, world history teach Seth Medefind has invited Rauschkolb to speak to his class. This year, Rauschkolb talked to six world history classes. He gave students a 50-minute presentation with photos of the bombed battleships as well as military memorabilia.

“It’s important for kids to connect what’s in textbooks with real-life events,” Medefind told the Merced Sun-Star.

Read the original story:

…On that fateful December morning, many thought the approaching planes were another frequent training session, but Rauschkolb, a third-class signalman, knew better. Soon after the Japanese aerial onslaught, Rauschkolb found himself retrieving body parts of fellow sailors from the harbor.

He was standing about seven feet away from the ship’s captain, who was killed by shrapnel. As Japanese planes strafed the battleship West Virginia, Rauschkolb had to dive into the oil-soaked waters to dodge the gunfire and swim deep to escape the flames licking the surface…

This June, Elizabeth Miller, a sophomore at Mona Shores High School sophomore Elizabeth Miller will join the Mona Shores Wind Ensemble for a musical performance at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Miller plays trombone in the school’s marching band. Miller has previously performed with the Young Americans Outreach Tour and also at Lake Harbor United Methodist Church. Her career aspiration is to become a professional musician.

Miller is one of 23 Michigan students who performed at the Solo & Ensemble Festival Prep Recital on Jan. 24 at the Whitehall United Methodist Church in Whitehall, Michigan. The festival was sponsored by the Music & Performing Arts branch of the Arts Council of White Lake.

Prizes included a $100 reward to the top three musicians, which included Amy Zuidema, Eric Martin, and Elizabeth Miller.

The USS Arizona Memorial attracts hundreds of visitors a day, with thousands more visiting Pearl Harbor sites like the USS Missouri, USS Bowfin, and Ford Island.

Learn more about the USS Arizona on the Hawaii Travel Guide:

The most visited attraction on Oahu, the USS Arizona Memorial at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center hosts over one million people every year. At this contemplative Pearl Harbor memorial, a near endless supply of oil, the “Black Tears of the Arizona,” seeps from the sunken battleship below. Accessible only by boat, the USS Arizona Memorial crosses over the sunken hull of the battleship without ever touching it. Nearby you’ll find the USS Bowfin Submarine and USS Missouri Battle Ship on Ford Island. 

Every US President since Franklin D. Roosevelt has made a pilgrimage to the site, so don’t think twice about seeing this famous memorial, it’s the top thing to see in Hawaii.

The Education Department at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor  is offering educational programs for students for the year 2012.

PAM is seeking volunteers to help with these programs, which focus on students from pre-school to high school and include topics like math, social studies, science, technology, history, aviation, and engineering.

Pacific Aviation Museum

Volunteer positions include developing new programs, managing events, data entry, research, transcribing, and more. Other open positions include Museum operations, tours, and aircraft restoration.

The Pacific Aviation Museum will train volunteers. To be a volunteer, a minimum of one day a month is required.

Benefits of being a volunteer:

• Meet veterans, pilots, mechanics
• Free admission to Pacific Aviation Museum and other sites Pearl Harbor
• Discounts at the Museum gift shop
• Free admission to all Hangar Talks and lectures
• Annual “Volunteer Appreciation” party

Ready to volunteer?

Contact Volunteer Coordinator Loretta Fung for a volunteer application:

808-441-1008 or Loretta.Fung [at] PacificAviationMuseum.org.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age or partnered with a parent. The Museum will provide documentation for service hours.

As you may know, a new exhibit opened at the Pacific Aviation Museum  in Hangar 79 on October 27, 2011.

The Flying Tigers exhibit pays tribute to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Flying Tiger, a popular and highly influential aircraft of WWII.

The P-40 currently on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum is on loan from donor corporation FedEx, and is valued at $1.5 million.

Flying Tiger P-40 at Pacific Aviation Museum

The wartime aircraft has been restored and preserved in flying condition. It is occasionally powered as part of routine maintenance. The PAM worked with the Flying Tiger
Museum in China to organize the current exhibit. The state of Hawaii, PAM, and the People’s Republic of China worked together to create a unique Pearl Harbor exhibit.

In 1942, the Royal Canadian Air Force planned to purchased aircraft from the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. However, the US Air Force instead bought the planes and used them primarily for training during WWII. Over 14,000 P-40 aircraft were built during World War II.

“Although often slower and less maneuverable than its counterparts, the P-40 could withstand amazing amounts of battle damage and could out-dive most of its adversaries.” - Kenneth DeHoff, Executive Director Pacifc Aviation Museum

P-40 stats:

• Room for a crew of one
• Powered by an Allison 12 cyclinder V-1710 engine
• Made by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation
• Top speed of 362 mph

The most memorable mark of the Flying Tigers is the painted shark face on the aircraft noses, which quickly made the Tigers the most recognizable combat unit of World War II. In fact the Pacific Aviation Museum logo features a Flying Tiger P-40.

The Flying Tigers’ first combat took place just 12 days after Pearl Harbor, on December 20, 1941.