My grandfather was in the Navy in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese bombed it. He was on a destroyer that didn't get hit. He remembered thinking, "boy, that's a pretty realistic drill" when the air fields started getting bombed. Then they had to break the locks to the ammunition compartments, because the officers had the keys and they were all on shore. He burned his hands pulling hot shells out of the guns because they didn't have time to put gloves on. He lost some hearing from the ordeal as well. Later on the destroyer he was on sank coming into port because it hit a friendly mine. My grandfather didn't even get his feet wet, because he was cleaning out a lifeboat. He also remembered shelling german troops as they chased them up the boot of Italy.
RIP Thomas Lawry January 9, 1923 - June 4, 2012
RIP Thomas Lawry January 9, 1923 - June 4, 2012
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