Robert Hugh Matthews, 1920-2010, was in the United States Marine Corps, and was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. The Marines he was with were assigned to the base on Pearl Harbor, and in some cases stayed on board the ships docked there. Grandpa recounted the story to me once. He was sitting on his bed, not yet dressed for the day, reading a copy of Life Magazine, when he heard an explosion. He looked out the window of his quarters and saw the flames billowing up from the USS Arizona. It had been hit with a bomb in the exact spot where it stored it's artillery. The explosion was so devastating to the ship that it sunk in the harbor.
My Grandpa was on-board the USS Pennsylvania (the flagship of the fleet), which was in 'dry-dock' for repairs. That means that it was not in it's usual 'parking spot' on the island, but was on the other side completely. Naturally, after the Arizona blew, everything turned to chaos. Soldiers didn't have time to get fully dressed before getting to stations and mounting some kind of defense. My Grandpa mounted an anti-aircraft gun and tried his best to shoot down the Japanese planes as the flew over, completing almost three separate attack waves.
Grandpa later learned that the ship that was 'parked' where the Pennsylvania usually parks had sustained massive damage and was bombed heavily. Obviously the Japanese had hoped to take out the Admiral (housed on the Pennsylvania) by sinking the flagship, but were disappointed. I'm very grateful that my Grandpa lived through that attack, and the rest of America's involvement in World War II.
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