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It was 65 years ago on the morning of December 7, 1941 that a torrent of Japanese bombers descended upon the sleepy port of Pearl Harbor to launch a devastating surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet that killed 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians. While historians still debate about who knew what and when they knew it the fact remains that it was a significant point in American history both militarily and culturally speaking. The Battleship USS West Virginia was one of the eight battleships lined up on Battleship Row that morning and it was one of the ships that was sunk and later reclaimed from the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Seen here in a famous photograph (click for larger image) from the battle's aftermath the USS West Virginia was an important image in the American psyche and it was both a showpiece and the flagship of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

You can read the report of the Pearl Harbor attack by the Senior Surviving Officer of the USS West Virginia here, a wikipedia narrative of the account here, as well as the crew casualty list here. Several acts of courageous bravery took place on the deck of the USS West Virginia that morning. Notable is the story of Dorie Miller, a cook (played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2001 film "Pearl Harbor" but also played by Elven Havard in the 1970 film "Tora! Tora! Tora!"), who helped move the mortally wounded Captain of the ship and then manned an anti-aircraft gun shooting down at least one enemy plane with no previous training. For his bravery, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross (the first African American to be awarded the Navy's second highest honor) and later had a frigate named in his honor. The USS West Virginia was sunk after taking two bomb hits and seven torpedo hits.

The USS West Virginia was restored and returned to duty in July, 1944 and became a flagship again when Rear Admiral Theodore Ruddock shifted his command from the USS Maryland later that year to the "Wee Vee" as the ship was commonly known. The newly renovated battleship was active in numerous campaigns in the South Pacific including: the Battle of Leyte, the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. In total the USS West Virginia earned 5 battle stars for its participation in the operations of the Pacific Fleet. The original plan was to have the Japanese surrender ceremony held on the deck of the restored USS West Virginia in 1945 but because President Truman was from Missouri the USS Missouri (the last battleship to be built by the United States) was used instead. The USS West Virginia was the only ship sunk at Pearl Harbor that was present for the signing of the surrender and five of her musicians were transferred to the "Mighty Mo" to play at the ceremonies. The USS West Virginia was decommissioned in January 1947 after which her mainmast was eventually installed in a memorial at West Virginia University in May 1963 and her bell was sent to the West Virginia State Museum (in the West Virginia Cultural Center) where it remains on exhibit.

The battleship USS West Virginia was actually the second ship to bear the name of the 35th state. The first USS West Virginia was an armored cruiser launched in 1903 (the bell of which is installed with the mainmast of the Wee Vee at WVU). The current USS West Virginia is an Ohio class ballistic missile submarine (or boomer) launched in 1989 and still in active service (click here for a different image).

Labels: news, wv