THIS DAY IN HISTORY

USS Arizona Is Destroyed

Part 2 of Pearl Harbor-Hallowed Ground

The USS Arizona is considered Hallowed Ground, please honor and respect this account.

Visitors at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, Photo by author

Donald G. Stratton was 19 years old and had just finished breakfast when he heard the buzzing of over 300 Japanese planes over the stunningly blue Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii. As the Japanese air raid began, chaos ensued as young men were alarmed to battle stations.

The Arizona lost 1,177 persons as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo credit Arizona memorial website

Stratton and six other men ran to their post, the anti-aircraft director in the tower of the USS Arizona. Their job in the tower was to shoot down high-altitude aircraft in battle. As they stood their post, the Arizona was hit by two bombs, the second one directly hit the ships ammunition. The ship was engulfed in flames and exploded over 50 feet out of the water, tossing the men into the burning inferno.

This is what the ship looked like after the bombing, before she sunk. Photo credit Arizona memorial website

As oil and gas burned on top of the water, the temperature was 8000 degrees; hotter than lava. Stratton was burned over…