From My Mind to....

Lest We Forget....

Subject: Found STORED IN AN OLD BROWNIE CAMERA--12/07/1941

A close friend of mine sent me this email; I had to share it on this special day.  Lest we forget....                     



December 7th, 1941
       
Can you imagine they actually developed this film? and every photo is so clear like they were taken  yesterday..I can hardly imagine the shock that was experienced that Sunday morning.
                                                                       
Isn't is  amazing how a film could last so long in a  camera without disintegrating?   
Fantastic photos  taken 69 years ago.  Some of you will have to go to a museum  to see what a Brownie camera looked like?

Here is  a simple picture of what we are talking about. . 


THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM A  SAILOR WHO WAS ON THE USS QUAPAW ATF-11O. 











Pearl Harbor 

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the  Japanese launched a surprise attack against the  U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii  By planning this attack on a Sunday, the  Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to  catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would  have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the  Battleships were not in port. (The USS  Enterprise was returning from  Wake Island  , where it had just delivered some aircraft. The  USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway,  and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were  undergoing repairs in the  United States ) 

In spite of the latest intelligence  reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his  most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided  to continue the attack with his force of six  carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230  miles north of  Oahu , he launched the  first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at  0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183  fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the  fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in  Hickam,  Kaneohe and Ewa. The second  strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167  aircraft, which again struck at the same  targets.

At 0753 hours the first wave  consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo  bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers, 50  high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck  airfields and Pearl Harbor Within the next hour,  the second wave arrived and continued the  attack.

When it was over, the U.S. Losses were:
Casualties 
US Army: 218 KIA, 364 WIA. 
US Navy: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA. 
US MarineCorp: 109 KIA, 69 WIA. 
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA. 
TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA. 
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Battleships
USS Arizona  (BB-39) - total loss when a bomb hit her  magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) -  Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the  harbor.
USS California (BB-4 4) -  Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. 
USS West Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at  her berth. Later raised and repaired. 
USS Nevada - (BB-36) Beached to  prevent sinking. Later repaired.
USS  Pennsylvania (BB-38) - Light damage. 
USS Mary land (BB-46) - Light damage. 
USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage. 
USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship  used as a target) - Sunk. 
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Cruisers
USS New Orleans  (CA-32) - Light Damage..
USS San  Francisco (CA-38) - Light Damage.
USS  Detroit (CL-8) - Light Damage.
USS  Raleigh (CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired.. 
USS Helena (CL-50) - Light Damage. 
USS Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage.. 
-------------------------- --  ----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------- 
Destroyers
USS Downes  (DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged. 
USS Cassin - (DD -3 7 2) Destroyed.  Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) -  Very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388)  - Light Damage. 
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Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4)  - Sunk but later raised and repaired. 
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Seaplane Tender
USS  Curtiss (AV-4) - Severely damaged but later  repaired. 
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Repair Ship
USS Vestal  (AR-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired. 
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Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo  (YT-9) - Sunk but later raised and repaired. 
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Aircraft
188 Aircraft  destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air  Corps.)