OT: Learned something new - the USS Utah

[DJ Spanky]

Everyone knows about the USS Arizona resting on the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. But the Arizona was not the only battleship to have been left on the harbor bottom: the USS Utah is also still there. It was a World War I battleship that was used for training purposes by the Navy, and the Japanese knew that and had been instructed to not waste ordinance on it. However, during the heat of battle a couple of pilots made a mistake and attacked it. It was sunk and 58 US Navy personnel lost their lives. They initially tried to salvage her, but quickly determined that it was not worthwhile. Of the 58 men lost, 54 are still entombed in the ship.

Here's what got passed through my youtube suggestions which led me to learn about it:




This is the wiki page on it:

USS Utah (BB-31)

They built a memorial that reaches out from the side of the harbor:

 

[Southern Gentleman]

It is difficult to imagine the horrors, the sacrifices, and the bravery of the men and women at Pearl Harbor that day. Just as it is difficult to imagine those same things on D-Day and other battles, large or small, around the world.
Every day is a good day to be mindful of all our veterans.

 

[mdk01]

Everyone knows about the USS Arizona resting on the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. But the Arizona was not the only battleship to have been left on the harbor bottom: the USS Utah is also still there. It was a World War I battleship that was used for training purposes by the Navy, and the Japanese knew that and had been instructed to not waste ordinance on it. However, during the heat of battle a couple of pilots made a mistake and attacked it. It was sunk and 58 US Navy personnel lost their lives. They initially tried to salvage her, but quickly determined that it was not worthwhile. Of the 58 men lost, 54 are still entombed in the ship.

Here's what got passed through my youtube suggestions which led me to learn about it:

View embedded media

This is the wiki page on it:

USS Utah (BB-31)

They built a memorial that reaches out from the side of the harbor:

By the time the 2nd wave got there Battleship Row was probably such a mess, except for the Nevada trying to get out, that they were looking for anything big that was still floating.

 

[ruready4somefootball]

My Uncle Jack was injured at Pearl Harbor that day. He was returned stateside to heal. My Grandmother told me a story of an alarm clock going off and he jumped up and instinctively threw the clock out the window. The term back then was called shell shock. As years went by, I remember him as a straight shooter and when he talked you listened.

 

[OntheBanks]

My Uncle Jack was injured at Pearl Harbor that day. He was returned stateside to heal. My Grandmother told me a story of an alarm clock going off and he jumped up and instinctively threw the clock out the window. The term back then was called shell shock. As years went by, I remember him as a straight shooter and when he talked you listened.

My late Uncle's brother is on the Arizona.

 

[koleszar]

A friend of mine from high school through college just assumed command of the USS Nimitz. They're grooming him to take over another aircraft carrier once the Nimitz is mothballed in 2 yrs. Got to tell ya, I wrestled and played football with Doug from Midgets/Pop Warner through High School and at the time nothing screamed future Commanding Officer of the world's largest and deadliest war ship.

 

[phs73rc77gsm83]

Everyone knows about the USS Arizona resting on the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. But the Arizona was not the only battleship to have been left on the harbor bottom: the USS Utah is also still there. It was a World War I battleship that was used for training purposes by the Navy, and the Japanese knew that and had been instructed to not waste ordinance on it. However, during the heat of battle a couple of pilots made a mistake and attacked it. It was sunk and 58 US Navy personnel lost their lives. They initially tried to salvage her, but quickly determined that it was not worthwhile. Of the 58 men lost, 54 are still entombed in the ship.

Here's what got passed through my youtube suggestions which led me to learn about it:

View embedded media

This is the wiki page on it:

USS Utah (BB-31)

They built a memorial that reaches out from the side of the harbor:

If you any of you have not had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor and the monuments, I strongly encourage you to get it on your list. Very interesting but of course, very emotional.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

A friend of mine from high school through college just assumed command of the USS Nimitz. They're grooming him to take over another aircraft carrier once the Nimitz is mothballed in 2 yrs. Got to tell ya, I wrestled and played football with Doug from Midgets/Pop Warner through High School and at the time nothing screamed future Commanding Officer of the world's largest and deadliest war ship.

Leaders in their formative years are commonly outliers, observing and learning gradually but constantly. They eventually step up and blossom and make their mark.

 

[DJ Spanky]

If you any of you have not had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor and the monuments, I strongly encourage you to get it on your list. Very interesting but of course, very emotional.

Visited the memorial in 99, just after they opened the Missouri for tours. Walked the decks of the Missouri after the looking down on the Arizona.

 

[MoreCowbellRU]

Visited the memorial in 99, just after they opened the Missouri for tours. Walked the decks of the Missouri after the looking down on the Arizona.

Would love to visit Pearl Harbor. But I have little interest in Hawaii besides checking out Pearl and seeing a volcano.
I'll probably visit Normandy before Pearl Harbor.

 

[colbert17]

Pearl Harbor is a must visit. The Missouri is anchored on the same spot that was occupied by the capsized Oklahoma the day of the attack. If you stand on the starboard side looking out towards the harbor you can imagine the Japanese torpedo planes coming in on their runs.
I read somewhere that the Utah had some of its superstructure removed and replaced with a flat deck in its role as a target ship. There is speculation that some Japanese pilots mistook it for an aircraft carrier due to this appearance. Once again I'll recommend the book At Dawn We Slept by Gorden Prange as the comprehensive book on Pearl Harbor. It is required reading for all Park Rangers at Pearl.

 

[Armor and Sword]

I would encourage anyone to visit a WWII battle site, be it Pearl Harbor or Normandy for the very reason that it may be the only battle site where you may have had not-so-distant family participate in the battle. I realized this visiting Normandy last year. Haven't been able to make the ancestral connection to Civil War battlefields and with 19th and 20th century immigrant ancestors, Rev War is out of the question for that

 

[DJ Spanky]

I was looking for an aerial photo and came across this:

A Baby Girl is Entombed In the USS Utah at Pearl Harbor

 

[DJ Spanky]

So this got put in my feed this morning, interesting to watch. I did not know that the Memorial, since it's on Ford Island, is only accessible to those with a military ID.