Pearl Harbor 80th Anniversary

December  7th,  1941 - December  7th, 2021

Lest we Forget............

 These words, spoken by President Franklin Roosevelt the day after the surprise attack on our peacetime navy docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, reminds us that this fateful day in our country's history should never be forgotten. For the families of the 2403 men and women who died that day, remembering is a lifelong acceptance. And for all the families of the brave servicemen who did survive that day, it is also to remember the individual and shared stories of each and every one.

Eddie Brooks was one of those survivors. Eddie was a boxer, a very strong muscular, quiet man of 23. He had been in the Navy since 1939, and stationed on the USS Argonne, a  communications ship, smaller than the great battleships moored on Battleship row, but like all the ships in Pearl Harbor that day, an important part of the US Pacific Fleet.  On that Sunny Sunday, as the bombs began to drop out of the sky on the ships in the harbor, Eddie volunteered for rescue duty, and with four other men from his ship, they jumped in a motorized whaleboat and headed out across the Harbor.  Eddie Brooks had many friends on the USS Arizona and West Virginia, and had spent the evening on the Arizona with a classmate having dinner and watching a movie.  By the time he left the dock that morning to help with the rescue, the USS Arizona had already exploded. Eddie never saw his classmate again.  Eddie and his team headed for the burning West Virginia, they had to attempt to help their fellow sailors any way he could.

In the middle of Pearl Harbor, as the Japanese planes flew all around, at times targeting and strafing Eddie's 30ft boat as they made their way across the gauntlet,  Eddie was getting angry. When one of the bullets from a Japanese plane knocked out the engine of Eddie's craft, he could not hold back. He jumped up on the back of his boat and shook his fist and gave a few choice words at the attacking planes.

With his boat immobilized, Eddie did the only thing he could, he gabbed the long oars from the boat and started rowing to the now burning West Virginia. Eddie stated later that the Japanese planes were so close he could see the pilots eyes. Eddie's boat was the first help to reach the West Virginia, and after transferring to a another undamaged boat soon after, they started picking up injured and dying men from the water.

Eddie and his fellow sailors contributed in helping save countless sailor's lives that day.

PH801 Eddie Brooks Shaking fist poster

PH802 Arizona Memorial

PH803Eddie Brooks Rowing poster

PN8 USS Missouri & Arizona Memorial

M24. "Eddie Brooks -   Pearl Harbor"

M28. "Arizona Memorial - Pearl Harbor "

M27. "Eddie Brooks Rowing "

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