Johnson recounts Pearl Harbor experience

By Homer S. Johnson

One of my mother’s closes cousins, who lived her entire life in Honolulu, Hawaii, invited me to live with her family in 1941 while I attended college there. I accepted, and in August of that year took a two-and-a-half day train ride to San Francisco on the Challenger, a Union Pacific streamliner. From there I embarked on the USS Lurline for a five-day voyage to Honolulu where I enrolled at the University of Hawaii, and joined the Reserve Officer’s Training Corp (ROTC).

Later that year, specifically, December 6, three friends and I took a drive out towards the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. We stopped along the highway where we could see the expanse of the harbor filled with battleships, destroyers and many other naval vessels, with the exception of our navy’s aircraft carrier fleet.

The next morning, December 7, I was awakened in my room by the loud sound of bombs dropping, and sporadic artillery fire. It quickly became apparent that what was taking place was no practice drill. Pearl Harbor was under attack..by the air force of Japan.

One “bomb” fell about two blocks from our home. (It was later determined that it wasn’t a Japanese bomb, but rather one of our own misfired artillery shells that almost hit us.) We rushed into the kitchen to listen to the radio. The station was announcing that Pearl Harbor was under a heavy attack. The radio announcer said specifically to “stay inside”, but of course, we all immediately rushed outside. In our hurry we knocked over three quarts of fresh milk that had been delivered earlier in the morning, ironically by a Japanese milkman.

While we could not see the base at Pearl Harbor itself, we could see all the smoke and fire rising up over the mountains. To get a better view, three of us climbed up on the roof of the house and watched wave after wave of bombers coming in over the mountains to attack Pearl Harbor. We saw the “Rising Sun” symbol on the wings of the attacking airplanes, so we knew right away that they were Japanese. Eventually, all the smoke and fire form the ships and buildings in the harbor filled the entire skyline.

About 10AM, my aunt came out and told me that the University was calling all ROTC cadets to report to the school. I rushed to put on my uniform and left on what was a four mile walk to campus. Fortunately for me, a jeep came by with two GI’s and gave me a ride. We checked in and our officers briefed us on what our role might be. Cadets were issued a mix of dated Enfield or Springfield rifles. In all instances, the firing pins were not set, and none of the ROTC personnel knew how to engage them, so we waited several hours for two technicians from the bombed-out air base at Hickam Field to arrive and fix the problem.

At 4:30 PM on the 7^th, we were loaded onto buses to be transported downtown. I remember distinctively Kate Smith’s voice on the bus radio singing “God Bless America”. It was the first time I had heard it sung and it brought tears to my eyes (and to this day, it still does.) We stopped and were unloaded at Honolulu’s YMCA (though we all hoped we’d be unloaded at the YWCA). We were assigned to rooms and then gathered in the auditorium to be briefed on what we would be doing. Basically, we were assigned to patrol and guard government buildings. At the time, rumors were flying about a possible Japanese invasion, and what our role in defending the islands might be. Needless to say, it was scary.

For my posting, I was assigned guard duty at the Post Office. The man I relieved said that a shot had been fired over his head, so he wished me good luck. Fortunately, no more incidents occurred that night. (Later, it was determined that it was one of our cadets who had inadvertently fired his rifle).

This is how December 7, 1941 ended for me.

On Monday, December 8, we were sworn into the Hawaiian National Guard on a temporary basis. Primarily we were used to guard government buildings and a few manufacturing operations, such as the Dole pineapple plant.

Interestingly enough, about 100 Japanese and a handful of German civilians who were suspected of espionage were interred on a small island in the Honolulu harbor. I guarded the compound for three days until some Army regulars arrived. Nothing of significance occurred during those three days, except that I remember that many of the Japanese were rude and arrogant.

I returned to the university when it reopened in February of 1942. The Hawaiian government announced that all non-residents sign up to be returned to the U.S. mainland. One day, on my way to school, I saw a convoy of ships steamed into the Honolulu harbor. I returned home immediately, and in the early afternoon received a call to report to the harbor the next day.

The ship I embarked on was one of eight or ten in the convoy returning to the states. It had to steam at the pace of the slowest ship in the group (four knots, I believe) to stay together. It had taken the convoy five days to make it from San Francisco to Hawaii. On the return trip, it took 12 days.

I enlisted in the Army in the fall of 1942 and was inducted into service in March of 1943, at Camp Dodge, Iowa. A group of us were shipped to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for 16 weeks of Infantry Basic Training. I qualified for an Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and was sent to Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio for engineering school. This program was partially disbanded 9 months later- I was one of the disbanded.

From there a group of us were sent to Radio School at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin; and from there to an advanced radio school in Chanute Field in Urbana, Illinois.

In the fall of 1944 I went to Radar School in Boca Raton, Florida. When that was completed we were assigned to a B-29 training group in Harvard, Nebraska for final training. I was assigned to the 501^st B-29 group and was shipped to Guam. This was the 3^rd B-29 group in the Mariana Islands, the other two were at Saipan and Tinian. In August the first Atomic Bomb was dropped in Hiroshima from a B-29 from Tinian. Shortly after, the Japanese surrendered.

Our group remained in Guam until the end of February then was shipped back to the good old USA. I was discharged March 15, 1946 (three years almost to the date I was sworn in.)

I joined both the American Legion and VFW and I am still a member.

Recently I had the wonderful experience of participating in one of the Honor Flights for WWII veterans. We spent several hours at the WWII Memorial and also visited the Vietnam Memorial, the Iwo Jima flag raising and Arlington Cemetery. On our return we were joined in Kingdom City by 137 Honor Brigade motor cycles. The whole flight was something I shall cherish for the rest of my life.

Mr. Johnson is married to Helen (Pitkin) Johnson. They are the parents of three children, Al Johnson, Janey Murray, and Elizabeth Sosniecki. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson belong to the Coates St. Presbyterian Church. Mr. Johnson was Gen Mgr of Wick Homes, Owner of the Moberly Bottling Co. and assisted wife Helen at the “Coachlight” store here in Moberly.

Margaret Miller Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution thanks Mr. Johnson for his service.