Veteran David Russell said he “can’t forget” that day 80 years ago on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese as he prepares to travel back to Hawaii for the anniversary.
Russell, who was a U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class at the time of the attack, said when the bombs started dropping he and hundreds of other servicemen on the USS Oklahoma went below deck for safety. The comments were noted by ABC 6 News in a piece published Monday. (RELATED: Only Five USS Arizona Survivors Are Still Living — But None Can Attend Memorial Services This Year)
When Japanese bombs began falling on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class David Russell first sought refuge below deck on the USS Oklahoma. But a split-second decision on that December morning 80 years ago changed his mind, and likely saved his life. https://t.co/e5IZWOPvkJ pic.twitter.com/bBxka1181N
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 6, 2021
“They started closing that hatch,” he added. “And I decided to get out of there.” (RELATED: Watching ‘Band Of Brothers’ Never Gets Old. Here’s Why It’s Such A Great Series)
Within 12 minutes, the battleship capsized, killing 429 sailors and Marines, the report noted.
“Those darn torpedoes, they just kept hitting us and kept hitting us,” the sailor shared. “I thought they’d never stop. That ship was dancing around.”
“You had to walk sort of sideways,” he added, noting that he had to climb over lockers as the ship rolled over.
Meet David Russell and learn about the split-second decision he made on Dec. 7, 1941 that likely saved his life. https://t.co/F0mhXMSJhC
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) December 6, 2021
Russell said once he got to the deck he eyed the USS Maryland nearby and ended up jumping off the ship, catching a rope and landing safely on the battleship. To this day, David thinks about the choices he made that day that likely saved his life.
In a clip from a recent interview with The Associated Press, he also mentioned talking about his experiences while he was in the VA hospital in San Francisco.
It starts at the 1:23 minute mark.
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“When I was in the VA hospital there in San Francisco, they said, ‘We want you to talk about World War II,'” the veteran explained. “And I said, I told them, I said, ‘When we talk about it, people don’t believe us. They just walk away.'”
“So now people want to know more about it so we’re trying to talk about it,” he added. “We’re trying to talk about it, and we’re just telling them what we saw. You can’t forget it.”
On Tuesday, Russell, who remained in the Navy until 1960, will return to the island to attend a ceremony in remembrance of the 2,300 American troops killed that day. He will be joined by close to 30 other survivors and 100 other veterans to observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the attack started.