Pearl Harbor vet recalls day of ‘infamy'

Bryans Road man served aboard USS Maryland in Dec. 7, 1941, attack

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by SARA POYNOR Pearl Harbor survivor Richard C. Crosariol stands outside his home in Bryans Road with a page from the Nov. 9, 1940, edition of the Chicago Daily News. The page's bottom picture is from the day Crosariol enlisted in the U.S. Marines. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photos The USS Maryland at Pearl Harbor during the attack. Turned over in the water is the USS Oklahoma. Click here to enlarge this photo Richard C. Crosariol leaving boot camp for Pearl Harbor in 1940.

Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, started out as a typical Sunday morning for Pvt. Richard C. Crosariol.

He was preparing for Mass in a casemate, a small space from which guns are fired, aboard the USS Maryland stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship was tied to the USS Oklahoma.

Without warning the Japanese staged a catastrophic attack that would catapult the United States into World War II.

Now, 68 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Crosariol, 91, is one of three survivors left in Charles County.

The other two survivors, Joseph R. Stotesbury of the U.S. Army and John G. Dehahn of the U.S. Navy, could not be reached for comment.

According to Clarence Davis, Maryland state chairman for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, there are approximately 56 survivors in the state and between 3,500 and 4,000 nationwide.

From his Bryans Road home this week, Crosariol recalled events from that day.

"The only thing I heard was a rap, rap, rap, from the bullets," he said. "The bullets were hitting the [ship] deck. We thought the Army Air Force was practicing."

While still in his casemate on the portside of the ship, Crosariol felt a soft spray of water hit his face, like a mist, and then heard a subdued noise from an underwater torpedo.

At approximately 7:55 a.m., the USS Oklahoma and a few other ships were struck and general quarters, an announcement to prepare for battle, sounded.

According to Crosariol, the announcement said, "This is no drill. … Man your battle stations."

For a brief second, it was "almost like a state of confusion," he said. "I didn't know what handle to grab. I must defend the ship."

Like many others, Crosariol was very young and had never been to war before. After all, he entered the U.S. Marines just one year earlier at 21.

Crosariol immediately ran to the topside of the ship to help load a 5-inch, .25-caliber anti-aircraft gun, he said.

Japanese planes started the attack with "strafing to clear off anybody defending the ships," Crosariol said. Then, there were dive-bombers, followed by torpedo planes.

"They come in low on the water and launch torpedoes," he said. "If the bombers were to drop the bombs at the same time as the torpedo planes, they may hit their own planes.

"They wanted the battleships and the carriers," Crosariol said. "The battleships were the queen of the sea."

Because it was "peace time," the ships were doubled up in the harbor. "We, basically, boxed ourselves in," he said. "Instead of shooting at the ships one at time, they were able to shoot at them two a time."

The USS Maryland suffered two bomb hits — one in the bow and one in the stern.

The Japanese did most of their damage during the first round of the attack. However, they wanted to get rid of everything they didn't hit so they staged a second wave.

During the second wave, the USS Maryland was shielded by all of the smoke, Crosariol said. "It was almost a godsend. They couldn't see us and we couldn't see them."

However, that was not the case for the USS Oklahoma. The ship was hit by multiple torpedoes and capsized in the water.

"There were 600 to 700 men trapped under the water [in the ship]," he said.

"You have an inclination to help those burning or drowning, but you can't. You must man your battle station."

By 9:45 a.m., the attack was over. There were about 2,400 deaths and more than 1,000 wounded. Hundreds of planes were obliterated and eight battleships were destroyed.

On Monday, Dec. 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a declaration of war against Japan and referred to the previous day as "a date which will live in infamy." On Dec. 11, Germany and Italy, Japan's allies, declared war on the United States.

After Pearl Harbor, Crosariol went to the Japanese islands of Tororo, Saipan and numerous other islands leading up to the Philippines.

The ship was struck with a torpedo while in Saipan and had to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs, he said.

The ship was also struck by a kamikaze plane while in the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.

During the war, he was "controlled by training and determination," he said.

"You forget about home. The ship is your home. The only relief is that you develop a sense of confidence that you can overcome."

Crosariol volunteered to serve "when Hitler was making noises," he said. "I was too healthy not to go."

After serving on the USS Maryland, Crosariol was transferred to the Navy base in Indian Head and remained in the area until he retired as a sergeant major.

In a statement released by Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Capt. Andrew Buduo III said, "… The bond that was created across the nation as a result of those tragic events is a bond that still holds firm today. We owe a debt of gratitude to all Americans of the ‘Greatest Generation' but specifically to the local heroes and survivors of Pearl Harbor who reside here in Charles County."

spoynor@somdnews.com

Remembrance Day

Maryland chapters of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors will hold a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony at the Maryland World War II Memorial at Governor Ritchie Overlook, just north of Annapolis on Route 450 at the Naval Academy Bridge, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 7.

Federal agencies, organizations, groups and individuals are urged to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff on Monday to honor those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.