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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1963)
Oil On Water Was Several (Continued from Page 1) the Japanese had set their tor pedoes to run at 21 feet, so as to run under the Vestal, w hich drew 19 feet of water, and slam into the hull of the Arizona. "We didn't know what was go ing on." he said. He and the other two men ran down to tlie messhall. But just as they arrived, a bomb came crashing through the ship, tlirough tlie messhall and down into a stor age room. There wore lfi casu alties in the messhall. A man standing next to Kahlgren was killed. After mat explosion, he said, smoke came billow ing from the lower decks, so he ran back up to the top deck. The executive officer of the ship yelled at him, "Get the hell off." So he jumped into a motor launch which was taking men off the sinking vessel. He recalls that the Arizona blew cip just after that launch left the Vestal and the blat broke the moorings between the Iwo ships. The Vestal's captain, Cason Young, was hurled into the water by the blast, but swam back to his ship and climbed aboard again. Then, he ordered the Vestal to move and ran the sinking ship tip on the beach before it sank. By that time it had taken a second bomb hit. For that feat, tlie captain re ceived the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was killed later in the war. Besides saving his ship, the captain also saved tlie life of a sailor who happened to be spending a time in the Vestal's brig. Tlie man with the key to his cell was killed by a bomb blast and only by running the ship upon the beach was the man's life saved. Fahlgren said oil on the water was several inches thick and it was burning hotly. This, he said prevented many men from jumping off the Arizona and saving themselves. iFa'hlgren finally got ashore and once there was selected to join a group of firefighting vol unteers. But the group was scattered as soon as it was formed by strafing Japanese planes and Fahlgren found him self near the officers' club. Through the smoke, he saw a group of 40 or 50 soldiers marching bis way, with rifles on their shoulders. DENNIS THE MENACE 6,I 0I0NT KNOW SOME BIRDS FMATVGtf?.' I SETTER Mil MS. yVHSONS 0IKUO41H DANIEL 1 WE CLOSE OUR DOORS FOREVER YESI ENTIRE STOCK OF QUALITY SHOES FOR MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN MUST BE CLEARED TO THE BARE WALLS! BUY NOW AT A FRACTION OF THEIR WORTH! WOMEN'S DRESS AND WALKING SHOES FANTASTIC GROUP! FAMOUS BRAND NAMES IN ALL SIZES. MANY COLORS AND STYLES. SAVE ONE HALF AND MORE! VALUES TO 18.99 CLOSING OUT AT $5$7-$9 OPEN EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK 527 Mein Street "I thought for sure they were Japs," he said. When they marched by, lie saw that they were Americans. That night, Kahlgren found himself among a group of sail ors hastily formed into fighting units. They had been told by their officers that the Japanese had landed and they were sta tioned in cane fields to fight the invaders off. The only invader of Kahlgren's cane field was a large dog. It was killed. When the Arizona sank, he said, a machine gun turret was left above water and all through the night, he could hear that machine gun rattling. The next morning, it was found the gun had shot down three American planes flying in from the car rier Enterprise, standing off Hawaii. It was one of the many tragedies resulting from confu sion following tlie attack. Fahlgren said three two-man Japanese submarines were sunk in Pearl Harbor during the bat tle and he saw one that was raised from the harbor floor.- He didn't find out for four days what had happened to his brothers on the Vestal. They were all safe. And, he sard, he later found out that the Filipino cook on the Vestal had stood on the deck of his ship during the height of the attack and thrown apples at the low-flying Japanese planes with a few manges thrown in for "tracers." Kahlgren stayed on the re paired Vestal for the rest of the war and finally left the Navy in 19-17. Although from Mon tana, lie wound up in Klam ath Kalis and is today a part ner in the Hilton distributing company. He is married and he ami his wife, Lois, have two children. While Kahlgren was moving away from the Vestal in a mo tor launch, Paul Caldwell, sev eral hundred yards away on tlie cruiser Phoenix, was minding his battle station and finding notihing to do. His station was a rangefinder, for which there was no use. Caldwell, a native of Klamath Kails, was eating breakfast when (he attack began. "We were in the messhall when the PA system passed the word, 'aid defense. Man your battle stations. This is no drill.' "When I got topside, I knew it was no drill. The Arizona blew up. The damnedest explo- 'S SHOES All Sales sion you ever saw. Fire and smoke everywhere. "I sat there and watched the planes come in and strafe." Of the Arizona, lie said: "She exploded and went straight down. "They caught us with our shorts down and that was the uniform of the day too shorts. "They strafed us. Nobody was hit, but a .50-calibre slug ran around the steel rangefinder well. It didn't hit any of us." Tlie Phoenix captain got his ship moving. "We tried to go around the channel, but the old Utah was bottom up in the channel and it was blocked." Finally, he said, the ship got out of the harbor, but confusing reports sent tlie cruiser all over (lie ocean without finding the Japanese. Three days later, the Phoenix came back to Pearl. "Roy, it was really a mess," he said. The first war mission for the Phoenix w as to escort a convoy of civilians to San Francisco. Then, the ship spent almost the rest of the war throughout the South Pacific in a number of battles. She was hit by bombs June 4, 1944, in the Philippines, but managed to limp to Austra lia for repairs. The only time the Phoenix left the Pacific was for two months in 1943 when the ship took Sec retary of State Cordell Hull from Washington to Casablanca for a high allied meeting. Cald well left the Navy an acting chief petty officer in 1947. He has been with the Klamath Falls Fire Department for four years as a driver. He and his wife, itita, have six children. The family lives at 1215 Owens. Karl Carlson, 46, retired as a chief petty officer in 1959 af ter 23 years in the Navy. He lives at 927 Alandale and was once Hie Navy recruiter in Klamath Falls. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was a boiler tender on the destroyer USS Craven, with Task Force 14 and Admiral Halsey. 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Inches Thick, Burning Hot Oahu (Hawaiit the night before that Sunday morning and was to have entered port at 10 a.m. Dec. 7. Carlson said the executive of ficer of his ship and told his men that he expected war to break out at anv moment. And it did. Carlson too was eating breakfast and listening to Hono lulu radio when the announce ment of the attack came. Soon official word was flashed and general quarters was sounded. "We steamed around looking for the Jap fleet, but we didn't sight any planes," he recalled. "Tlie next morning i Monday) we went into port and saw the damage. "The first thing I looked for was the big crane used to mount guns in the harbor. If it was down I knew we were in trouble. It was still standing." After picking up fuel and sup plies, the Craven headed out again for reconnaissance duty, but still couldn't find the elu sive Japanese fleet. Ten days later, the ship was back in Pearl Harbor. "It's hard to imagine the state Quiet Observance Held HONOLULU iUPI - Prayers . . . taps ... a moment of si lence . . . and the laving of a wreath above the rusting hulk of a once-proud battleship. This was to be the quiet ob servance of Pearl Harbor Day Saturday, 22 years alter Japan's attack on the naval base bore that triggered U.S. enlry into World War 11. Some 70 representatives of 26 veterans' organizations planned the quiet observance at 3:15 p.m., EST. at the white con crete memorial above tlie bat tleship USS Arizona. The Arizona was sunk in the PHILADELPHIA (UPD -Princess Grace of Monaco said Sunday on her arrival here to visit her mother that she would visit (ne grave of President John K. Kennedy this week and call on Mrs. Kennedy. The princess, (he former Grace Kelly, said her visit to the President's widow would be at the former First Lady's con venience. rn IJ'if nn iflH.ll U- i T J ZrAztfS IOkccN 5TAMP5J "Nil of chaos," Carlson said. Carlson later left the Craven for duty aboard the destroyer L'SS Stenbel and remained on her in the South Pacific through tlie rest of the war. Carlson re tired in Klamath Falls in 1959 after a tour of recruiting duly here. He and his wife, Marcella, have one son. Carlson is com mander of the local chapter of the Disabled American Veter ans. Vern Sclwrtgen, tlie Klamath Falls building inspector, wasn't at Pearl Harbor rtn the day of the attack, but he did arrive less than two months later as an employe of Pacific Bridge Company. Schortgen was assigned to su pervise tlie raising of tlie battle ships California and Maryland. Pacific Bridge raised five of the battleships in all. Schortgen said the ships were sunk in M feet of water and their tops were barely under water. All had torpedo holes in their hulls. To raise them, Schortgen said, this technique was used: First the ships were surveyed and the size and location of the first wave of the Japanese at tacks that long ago Sunday. Her rusted hull still entombs the bodies of 1.102 American dead. Her fuel tanks still bleed a thin stream of oil across the smooth waters of Pearl Har bor. The Navy no longer observes Pearl Harbor Day as such be cause it is Defense Department policy to conduct a single me morial for all war dead on May 30 each year. There was, of course, a fresh er note of mourning here Satur day. For lags throughout (he harbor have been at half-staff (he past two weeks in memory of the late President John F. Kennedy, a Navy hern of the Pacific War that began here Dec. 7, 1941. IT holes determined. Then patches made of 12xl2 uich timbers were constructed and edged with rub ber tubing. A patch would be lowered and hold down with ballast. The div ers would draw tlie patch in ward with cables and jacks until it covered the hole. When the holes were patched, a concrete wall was poured on the ship's deck with tlie top of the wall out of water. Huge pumps would then pump out tlie water inside the walls and then inside the ship. Finally, the ship would rise. Water pressure had sealed the patches against the hold. Schortgen said that even two months alter the disastrous at tack, the harbor was still a shambles, w ith wreckage every where. "They hadn't even started to clean it up." Ik- said. Each of these four men have something special to remember about that day 22 years ago. Thousands of men across the country have similar memories. Kahlgren, for example, is a member of a unique associa tion the Pearl Harbor Survivor ors Association, which holds its convention every year on Dec. 7. Next year that convention will be held in Portland and the battle of Pearl Harbor will be fought once again in the minds of men who were there, and lived to remember. Sun., Dec. 8, lflta Tagc 5-A Herald & News Klamath Falls Insure Your Happy Holidays! DRIVE CAREFULLY! 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