The following are some excerpts from the story of Clyde Stephenson's chapter in The Hero Next DoorTM.
For Clyde Stephenson, of Appleton, Wis. Dec. 7, 1941 the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor is the infamous day that will live forever vividly in his memory. Stephenson was a Marine attached to the USS CALIFORNIA battleship when the U.S. fleet arrived in the native Hawaiian paradise of Pearl Harbor in May 1940.
As a Marine aboard a Navy ship, Stephenson's main duties while in port were to post guard and perform orderly duty for the captain and executive officers. At sea and in battle, he was to help the dozen or so men man the five-inch broadside guns on the port side.
But, Stephenson wasn't at his post when the Japanese attacked. As luck would have it, he was among four to five Marines from each battleship in port that week sent out to the rifle ranges at the Fleet Machine Gun School at nearby Fort Weaver, located just west of the entrance to Pearl Harbor.
"They would send sailors out there and we would instruct them on machine guns and automatic rifles. We completed that work on Friday, Dec. 5, and got permission to stay out there for the weekend. So, we were there, maybe one mile from where our ship was anchored, on Sunday morning when the Japs struck."
Stephenson was already up for breakfast and back in his tent when the first strike of some 353 Japanese bombers, torpedo bombers and fighters hit the harbor at 7:55 a.m.
The Wisconsin Marine was among Pearl Harbor's surprised and ill-equipped defenders, trying to do something to slow or turn back the Japanese as the small contingent at the outpost school both heard and saw Pearl Harbor unfold almost simultaneously.
"We heard an explosion and saw a lot of airplanes. We looked up and there was a squadron of Japanese torpedo bombers 400 to 500 feet overhead. It didn't take long to realize what was happening."
And, it didn't take long for Stephenson and the Marines at Fort Weaver to take action.
"The armory where we kept the guns and ammo was 100 yards away so we ran to it. Of course the guy with the key wasn't around so we tore the door off and got out the automatic rifles and machine guns and just started firing away. Most the guys went down toward the ocean for a better shot at the target."
The first wave of the Japanese attack lasted until about 8:20 a.m. when, Stephenson said, the Marines could see a break in the action. Within an hour they saw the second wave hit.
"It let up a little and then the second wave were the dive bombers. They flew at a lot higher altitude and we did see a few planes go down."
Because of their location, Stephenson and his fellow Marines could see plenty of the Japanese bombers coming in but little of the damage in the harbor just a mile or so away. "We could see a lot of smoke but that was about it."
They knew, however, the damage would be heavy as they watched the battle rage literally over their heads.
"During the bombing attack some B-17s were coming in on their way to the Philippines and the Japs were firing at them. That was all right over our heads. The torpedo bombers came right past us. They all had to fly over us to get into and out of the harbor."
Considering the front row seat, no one at the gun school was killed or seriously injured and, as soon as they could, they returned to the harbor. Stephenson got an up-close look at the damage two days later when he finally made it back to his ship, which was hit by bombs and had listed heavily before sinking
"The California sunk right down in the mud with the top deck out of the water. About 300 men had lost their lives in the attack. The water in the harbor was still covered with oil and things were still pretty disorganized."
Read more about Clyde Stephenson's war-time experiences at and beyond Pearl Harboras well as the brother he lost to the warin his chapter in The Hero Next DoorTM. Click on the Shop button above to order.
