Pearl Harbor survivor and World War II Navy veteran David Russell, 101, reads a birthday card in Albany, Ore., while talking about his time aboard the USS Oklahoma and his life after the war. (Nathan Howard/The Associated Press)

101-year-old returns to Pearl Harbor to remember those lost

  • By Audrey McAvoy and Gillian Flaccus The Associated Press
  • Tuesday, December 7, 2021 1:30am
  • News

HONOLULU — When Japanese bombs began falling on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class David Russell first sought refuge below deck on the USS Oklahoma.

But a split-second decision on that December morning 80 years ago changed his mind, and it likely saved his life.

“They started closing that hatch. And I decided to get out of there,” Russell, now 101, said in a recent interview.

Within 12 minutes, his battleship would capsize under a barrage of torpedoes.

Altogether, 429 sailors and Marines from the Oklahoma would perish — the greatest death toll from any ship that day other than the USS Arizona, which lost 1,177.

Russell plans to return to Pearl Harbor today for a ceremony in remembrance of the more than 2,300 American troops killed in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.

About 30 survivors and 100 other veterans from the war are expected to observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the attack began.

Survivors, now in their late 90s or older, stayed home last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and watched a livestream of the event instead.

Russell is traveling to Hawaii with the Best Defense Foundation, a nonprofit founded by former NFL linebacker Donnie Edwards that helps World War II veterans revisit their old battlefields.

He recalls heading topside when the attack started because he was trained to load anti-aircraft guns and figured he could help if any other loader got hurt.

But Japanese torpedo planes dropped a series of underwater missiles that pummeled the Oklahoma before he could get there. Within 12 minutes, the hulking battleship capsized.

“Those darn torpedoes, they just kept hitting us and kept hitting us. I thought they’d never stop,” Russell said. “That ship was dancing around.”

Russell still thinks about how lucky he was. He ponders why he decided to go topside on the Oklahoma, knowing most of the men who stayed behind likely were unable to get out after the hatch closed.

In the first two days after the bombing, a civilian crew from the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard rescued 32 men trapped inside the Oklahoma by cutting holes in its hull. But many others perished. Most of those who died were buried in anonymous Honolulu graves marked as “unknowns” because their remains were too degraded to be identified by the time they were removed from the ship between 1942 and 1944.

Russell clambered over and around toppled lockers while the battleship slowly rolled over.

“You had to walk sort of sideways,” he said.

Once he got to the main deck, he crawled over the ship’s side and eyed the USS Maryland moored next door. He didn’t want to swim because leaked oil was burning in the water below.

As he jumped, he caught a rope hanging from the Maryland and escaped to that battleship without injury.

He then helped pass ammunition to the Maryland’s anti-aircraft guns.

After the battle, Russell and two others went to Ford Island, next to where the battleships were moored, in search of a bathroom. A dispensary and enlisted quarters there had turned into a triage center and place of refuge for hundreds of wounded, and they found horribly burned sailors lining the walls. Many died in the hours and days ahead.

“Most of them wanted a cigarette, and I didn’t smoke at that time but I, uh, I got a pack of cigarettes and some matches, and I lit their cigarettes for them,” Russell said. “You feel for those guys, but I couldn’t do anything. Just light a cigarette for ‘em and let ‘em puff the cigarettes.”

Russell still thinks about how lucky he was. He ponders why he decided to go topside on the Oklahoma, knowing most of the men who stayed behind likely were unable to get out after the hatch closed.

In the first two days after the bombing, a civilian crew from the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard rescued 32 men trapped inside the Oklahoma by cutting holes in its hull. But many others perished. Most of those who died were buried in anonymous Honolulu graves marked as “unknowns” because their remains were too degraded to be identified by the time they were removed from the ship between 1942 and 1944.

In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed 388 sets of those remains in hopes of identifying them with the help of DNA technology and dental records. They succeeded with 361.

Russell’s brother-in-law was among them. Fireman 1st Class Walter “Boone” Rogers was in the fireroom, which got hit by torpedoes, Russell said. The military identified his remains in 2017, and he’s since been reburied at Arlington National Cemetery.

Russell remained in the Navy until he retired in 1960. He worked at Air Force bases for the next two decades and retired for good in 1980.

His wife, Violet, passed away 22 years ago, and he now lives alone in Albany, Ore. He drives himself to the grocery store and the local American Legion post in a black Ford Explorer while listening to polka music at top volume.

When he’s not hanging out with other veterans at the legion, he reads military history and watches TV. He keeps a stack of 500-piece puzzles to keep his mind sharp.

For decades, Russell didn’t share much about his experiences in World War II because no one seemed to care. But the images from Pearl Harbor still haunt him, especially at night.

“When I was in the VA hospital there in San Francisco, they said, ‘We want you to talk about World War II.’ And I said, I told them, I said, ‘When we talk about it, people don’t believe us. They just walk away.’ So now people want to know more about it, so we’re trying to talk about it. We’re trying to talk about it, and we’re just telling them what we saw,” he said. “You can’t forget it.”

___

Flaccus reported from Albany, Ore.

More in News

Sequim passes its 2025 budget

Capital projects include expanded utilities

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

Sam Grello, the executive director of the Port Angeles Waterfront District, strings lights on a tree in downtown Port Angeles on Thursday. The district procured professional-grade lights to last several years and will work to brighten the downtown area for the holiday season. (Kelley Lane/Peninsula Daily News)
Holiday spirit

Sam Grello, the executive director of the Port Angeles Waterfront District, strings… Continue reading

From left to right, donors Ann Soule and Dave Shreffler, Clallam County commissioner Randy Johnson, Peninsula Behavioral Health (PBH) CEO Wendy Sisk, PBH Board President Dave Arand and Port Angeles City Manager Nathan West break ground for PBH’s new housing project, North View. Once completed next December, North View will have 36 units available to provide permanent, supportive housing for those who have experienced chronic homelessness. (Emma Maple/Peninsula Daily News)
Peninsula Behavioral Health breaks ground on 36-unit housing project

North View to serve those chronically homeless

Mauro recognized by city management association

John Mauro has been recognized by the Washington City… Continue reading

Overnight lane closures to start Sunday on US Highway 101

Contractor crews will close lanes overnight on U.S. Highway… Continue reading

Health care model relies on reimbursement

Olympic Medical Center is unlike almost any other business… Continue reading

The Commons at Fort Worden to close through winter

Hospitality services will move to The Guardhouse beginning Monday

City of Port Angeles adopts balanced budget

Revenue, expenses set about $157 million

Olympic Medical Center commissioners will consider potential partnerships with other health organizations to help the hospital’s long-term viability. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Olympic Medical Center to explore outside partnership

Process to explore long-term viability

After learning about each other through a genealogy service 15 years ago and speaking on the phone for years, Steven Hanson of Montevideo, Minn., and Sue Harrison of Sequim met for the first time a few weeks ago. The siblings were placed for adoption by their biological mother about 10 years apart. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Adopted as babies, siblings meet decades later

Sequim woman started search for biological family 15 years ago