Naval Commander Donald DuBrul

At 7:50 a.m., Naval Commander Donald DuBrul was about to complete his 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. watch on board the USS Argon. The ship was stationed in the Navy Yard towards the entrance to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. He began wondering if the next man would show up for his shift. In the distance, a band onboard the USS Nevada could be heard playing the Star-spangled Banner for the flag-raising ceremony that was about to commence. The singleman paced waiting for his chance to have his watch end when he turned east to look out over the harbor. Directly east, Ford Island could be seen with its battleship yard full and past that, the ammo dump and tank farm. Over the music being played on the Nevada, a plains whine could be heard. Commander DuBrul looked up just in time to see an explosion on Ford Island. His immediate thought was that some American pilot was about to be court marshaled; until another plane flew in and unloaded its cargo. The first wave of Japanese torpedo planes ! came into full view as they passed through the clouds aiming for the battleship yard. The time was 7:53 a.m. The seaman stood in astonishment as flames lept from the ships. He was awakened by a voice over the loud speaker yelling, Air Raid Pearl Harbor! This is no drill! The air was filled with the whine of dive bombers and the sounds of antiaircraft guns beginning to start their counterattacks. One of the more prized battleships, the Arizona, took a torpedo right down its exhaust stack where it blew up. Seamen dove off ships trying to swim to safety, only to be burned by waves of fire in the harbor that contained burning oil. Onboard the Nevada, the band kept playing as the ship prepared to escape the harbor. In fear of blocking the exit, it turned and beached itself. At about 9 a.m., after two waves of Japanese dive bombers took their toll on the once great US Navy, the chaos had finally ended (DuBrul). A date which will ...