The Marines aboard the USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941
By BILL DUNCAN
The View From Here
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy –the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."
-President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Those words were spoken on Dec. 8, 65 years ago, as Roosevelt declared war on Japan. I have just finished reading a book about the little-known story of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Arizona on that fateful day. An armor-piercing bomb struck the magnificent battleship as she lay peacefully at anchor that Sunday morning in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The bomb penetrated four decks before exploding.
The ship quickly sunk taking with it most of her 1,514 crew members. Today, she is but a rusting hull on the bottom of the harbor, yet she remains the symbol of a nation willing to die for its freedom.
Much has been written about Pearl Harbor and World War II. "Battleship Arizona’s Marines at War," by Richard Camp Jr., a retired Marine colonel. It is a fascinating story, but one that touched my heart. It is about sea-going Marines, an elite part of the Marine Corps, who up until a few years ago, served in small detachments aboard battleships, cruisers and aircraft carriers. Marine detachments are no longer stationed aboard ships.
I was a sea-going Marine on two different ships, therefore reading Camp’s carefully written story was like reupping for another tour. Of course, I was not part of the 88-man detachment aboard the Arizona, but reading Camp’s description of the Marine detachment I was again following the daily routines of a spit and polish Marine assigned sea duty.
Camp tells that of the 88 Marines assigned to the Arizona, only 15 survived the attack. But as I read the story of the men in the Marine detachment, I became personally acquainted with heroes on that day. The book is actually more than just that one day when the Arizona was attacked and sunk. It details little known facts about the ship which was launched in the first World War up to the hour she was sunk.
The book also covers the broader history of shipboard Marines from the time they were first used as "sea soldiers" in the Revolutionary war to modern day Marines. I was drawn to the personal story of Pvt. Henry Kalinowski, whom Camp followed as he reported to duty aboard the Arizona, because the incidents involving Pvt. Kalinowski paralleled my reporting to duty on my first ship. I could see myself struggling with a seabag boarding a liberty launch to go out into the harbor to climb an accommodation ladder and smartly turning toward the fantail to salute the colors and then ask permission of the officer of the day to come aboard.
I was saddened when I reached the end of the book and found that Pvt. Kalinoski of Ashtabula, Ohio was one of the casualties on the Arizona on Dec. 7. There were also two Oregonians and a Spokane Marine listed as killed in action aboard the Arizona on Dec. 7.
Of the 73 Marines who died that morning only 16 bodies were recovered. Fifty-two Marines remain entombed in that watery grave that is the Arizona.
Lest we forget, Cook writes in the prologue, how the four-member Marine color guard was posting Old Glory on the fantail of the Arizona when the attack came and despite strafing by the incoming Japanese aircraft held their post until the flag was properly secured even though that flag was ripped to shreds by the enemy aircraft’s machine gun fire.
They could do no less. A Marine is trained never to leave his post.
(Bill Duncan can be reached by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470, or by e-mail at elderstatesmansblog@yahoo.com)
January 9th, 2007 at 8:04 am
I just ran across this entry and wanted to say Thank You. I am a niece of Henry Kalinowski. It means alot knowing that his story has touched you. I have printed out your entry to share with family. There is a dedication soon in Henry’s honor in Ashtabula, Ohio. They are renaming the main highway in the county after Henry. What an honor. Thank you again.