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A sixteen year old Hawaiian boy is caught in the middle of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
A Boy Wakes Up on December 7thJohn Garcia was only sixteen in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese on December 7th. The boy was working as a pipe fitter apprentice at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. At about 8:00 a.m. that terrible morning, his grandmother woke him with awful news. The Japanese were bombing Pearl Harbor she told him. John didn't believe his grandmother's words and told her that the Americans were just practicing. But no, his grandmother was right. She then informed him that it was real and that the announcer on the radio said that it was requested that all Pearl Harbor workers were to report to work. Still somewhat in denial of his grandmother's words, John went out on the porch of their house and looked up at the sky. He then knew that his grandmother was speaking the truth. He could see for himself the "anti-aircraft fire up in the sky." A Fast Ride to AdulthoodJohn Garcia, that morning in the house with his grandmother, was four miles away from Pearl Harbor. He jumped on his motor cycle and took off. In a mere five or ten minutes he at his work site. He later recalled that everything was "a mess." The day before, John had been working on the USS Shaw. The ship was now floating in dry dock and it was in flames. John parked his motor cycle and started to head down into the pipe fitter's shop to get his toolbox. Before he could get very far he had to suddenly dive for cover. Another wave of Japanese bombers were coming in. The USS Pennsylvania in Flames Garcia crouched under a set of concrete steps at the dry dock where the Pennsylvania was docked. While he was there a naval officer came by and told him to go into the Pennsylvania and attempt to get the fires out. Aboard the Pennsylvania a bomb had penetrated the marine deck, three decks down. Under that were the magazines where ammunition, powder, and shells were kept. John Garcia had definite words for the naval officer. A Hawaiian Boy Becomes a Man: Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 continues with USS Pennsylvania Bombed: Japanese Bombers Strike Oahu.
The copyright of the article A Hawaiian Boy Becomes a Man in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish A Hawaiian Boy Becomes a Man in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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