Bauernfeind - Uss Arizona : The Enduring Legacy of a Battleship

The Enduring Legacy of a Battleship

Ingo W. Bauernfeind

This book is dedicated to those sailors and Marinesboth living and deadwho served on board the battleship USS Arizona , those who gave their lives on December 7, 1941 and during the following years of fighting, until the bloodiest war in history ended.

It is dedicated also to my family, in particular to my mother, Mrs. Heidi Bauernfeind, for her endless support, encouragement, and trust in all my endeavorswithout her this book would never have been possible.

How to watch the three videos in this book ():

Open your mobile app store (App Store, Google Play, Windows Marketplace, etc.)

Search for free QR code readers.

Simply download the QR code reader to your smartphone or tablet, open it and you are ready to go.

Open the QR code reader on your device.

Hold your device over a QR code so that its clearly visible within your screen. Two things can happen when you correctly hold your device over a QR code:

- The phone automatically scans the code.

- On some readers, you have to press a button to snap a picture, not unlike the button on your smartphone camera.

If necessary, press the button. Your smartphone reads the code and navigates to the intended video website, which doesnt happen instantly. It may take a few seconds on most devices.

Watch the video by after selecting the correct resolution (up to 4K).

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Every attempt has been made by the author and the publisher to secure the appropriate permissions for material reproduced in this book. If there has been any oversight we will be happy to rectify the situation and written submission should be made to the publisher.

ISBN: 978 3 98159 842 1

eISBN: 978 3 98159 845 2

Mobi ISBN: 978 3 98159 845 2

1st Edition / Copyright 2018

Bauernfeind Press

Hingbergstrasse 86-88

45468 Mlheim an der Ruhr

Germany

Email:

www.ingobauernfeind.com

www.bauernfeindpress.com

Layout by WS WerbeService Linke, Alberichstr. 11, 76185 Karlsruhe, Germany

Cover design by WS Werbeservice Linke

First of all, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my friend and mentor, historian Daniel A. Martinez; the survivors of the USS Arizona ; and the U.S. National Park Service. During my college education at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu I completed an internship at the USS Arizona Memorial (now the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument). With naval history and Pearl Harbor being life-long passions for me, I felt honored to work with this renowned institution. During my cooperation with Daniel Martinez over the years, my connection to him grew constantly. Despite his commitments as a noted historian, Daniel always supported my ambitions with his expertise and advice.

My personal contact to the survivors of the Arizona encouraged me to preserve their memories for the future. I want to thank each of them for sharing their intimate thoughts and feelings with me: Donald G. Stratton, the late Glenn H. Lane, the late Edward L. Wentzlaff, and the late John D. Anderson. I also want to express my gratitude to the late Zenji Abe, his daughter Naomi Shin, Sterling R. Cale, and Charlie Van Valkenburgh. Abe was a Japanese pilot who participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, he dedicated his energy to the reconciliation between the United States and Japan. Abe very kindly contributed an essay about his motivation to reconcile with his former enemies. Mr. Cale is a Pearl Harbor survivor who was assigned to remove the human remains from the Arizonas wreck. He graciously allowed me to include his personal experience in this book. Charles Van Valkenburgh, the grandson of the Arizonas last commanding officer, Franklin Van Valkenburgh, kindly shared his thoughts about his grandfather. The National Park Service (NPS) and the Pacific Historic Parks are the stewards of the USS Arizona Memorial and the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. I want to thank the people at these institutions for their support: Tom Shaw, Kay English, Skip Wheeler, Jennifer Burbank, Ray Sandla, Joey Hutton, and many others.

The Submerged Resources Center (SRC) of the National Park Service, based in Denver, Colorado, has been monitoring, surveying, and photographing the remains of the Arizona since the 1980s. The SRC staff has provided me a fascinating insight into the ship as an archaeological site and environmental challenge for the future, for which I am endlessly grateful: Brett T. Seymour (with Steve Burns and Jorge Franzini at Curiosity Stream for giving me permission to include their photography and film about the Arizona in my book), Daniel J. Lenihan, Dr. David L. Conlin, Matthew A. Russell, Larry E. Murphy, and Evan Kovacs.

I also want to thank the following individuals and institutions for their support: Marcus Linke, Joyce Libby, Paul Stillwell, Michael W. Pocock, Burl Burlingame, William J. Blackmore, Dr. James P. Delgado, Janis Jorgensen and Captain Tim Woolridge (USN, ret.) at the U.S. Naval Institute, Paul Wentzlaff (Edward L. Wentzlaff son), Garth and Trish Anderson (Trish is the daughter of Glenn H. Lane), Nikki Stratton (Donald G. Strattons granddaughter), Honolulu Star Bulletin, Josef Kaiser, Judith Bowman at the U.S. Army Museum Hawaii, David Rush (U.S. Navy), Heather Postema, Bolling Smith at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc., Maury Drummond and Tim NesSmith at the USS Kidd Veterans, Dr. Geoffrey White, Ernest Arroyo, Mark Nitta, Bonnie Beatson, Lisa OBrien, Sebastian Boll, Dr. Maximilian Dorndorf, Johanna Langer, Jochen Lehmann, Dr. Werner Haas, the late Kris Smith, Joe Kane (U.S. Navy), Glen L. Bower, Karl Backman, Klaus Hagedorn, Lutz Strenger, Philip and Cyril Coombes, Jessica Sims at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Hawaii State Archives, U.S. National Archives, U.S. Naval Historical Center, National Geographic Society, U.S. Navy/Pearl Harbor Station Hawaii, U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Library of Congress.

The Enduring Legacy of a Battleship

Naval or maritime archaeologists often refer to shipwrecks as time capsules. After their descent to a watery grave, once proud ships often remain undisturbed on the sea bottom for decades, centuries or even forever with time having stopped on board. If discovered and explored, shipwrecks open a door into the past, thus becoming valuable for archaeological research or even treasure hunting. But is this really everything? What remains beyond a deteriorating hull in the depths of the ocean? Long before I moved to Honolulu I had been captivated by the history of the Hawaiian Islands, the Pacific, and the story of Pearl Harbor in particular. Over the years I have visited the USS Arizona Memorial numerous times beginning to think about the sunken battleship as a time capsule the Arizona took her place in history when she settled on the bottom of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Marking the greatest loss of life on a single ship in U.S. Naval history, she is a tomb and memorial for the 1,177 men who perished with her. Although large portions of her superstructure, masts, and gun turrets have been removed and scrapped, the ships interior has remained widely undisturbed since the end of the salvaging operations in 1943. The hulk has become a war grave for more than 900 sailors and Marines still resting inside her.