Pearl Harbor

This year is the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, and Pat and I had the pleasure today of once again talking with Ray Davis and his wife Rosemary at the American Legion Post 336 annual Pearl Harbor Pancake Breakfast. Another Pearl Harbor survivor was there this year, James Anderson, a sailor who served on the USS Maryland. Unfortunately, we did not get to meet up with him for long to get his experiences on the Day Which Will Live in Infamy or the war that followed.

Ray was a Pfc at Wheeler AB on Oahu, where he was bivouacked between hangars in tents with his squadron of P-40 aircraft mechanics who were enroute to reinforce the Philippines. They were due to forward deploy to the PI on Dec 14 when the bombs started falling on their aircraft first on the morning of Dec 7th. He said the Japanese wanted to take the fighters out of action first. They then went for the bombers parked on the ramp next. The P-40s were lined up wingtip to wingtip at Wheeler and the rest is history. He said fear for his life was his first reaction, then anger at the attackers, which stayed with him throughout WWII. Ray later served in the Pacific maintaining bombers that softened up and supported island invasions my Dad took part in as a Marine, and left the war as a SSgt. He worked many years after the war for the Los Angeles Police Department; he then went into the furniture business in Indiana before retiring to San Antonio several years ago. Mr Davis is a very nice gentleman, always willing to talk to reporters, Legionaires or anyone about his life experiences of over 90 years.

Joining us this morning were friends Larry and Shirley Pisani and Doug and Sylvia Mitchell. Larry served with the Marines in the Aleutian Islands during the Korean Conflict. Doug is retired Air Force who met his wife Sylvia at a dance for airmen at Lackland AFB. Doug went to Vietnam as a military dog handler and was there through the Tet Offensive. Later he switched to the legal field and retired after a long career in JAG offices on various bases. Also joining us at our table was a Post 336 member who retired from the Army and became a Presbyterian minister. He was an interesting fella to talk with, too.

After a plate of pancakes and bacon and eventually some coffee, we just had a good time talking with everyone and meeting with the Post Commander, Walter Gerraty, and of course, our host, Dom Cardonita, the PA for the Post and also a retired Air Force public affairs Chief Master Sergeant, whom I met on my first tour in the Air Force. Dom was at Headquarters Air Training Command at Randolph AFB here in San Antonio when I was the base PA at Laredo AFB TX. Later he was the best NCOIC I ever had at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AB. It was Dom’s second Southeast Asia tour, as he had been at Phu Cat AB, Republic of Vietnam earlier and his experiences there were a great help to a green Captain in Thailand.