Pearl Harbor survivor Bill Chase of Pearcy, right, attends a ceremony at the state Capitol on Monday marking the 68th anniversary of the surprise attack. (Photo by John Lyon/Arkansas News Bureau)
By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Bill Chase of Pearcy was in the naval hospital at Pear Harbor, recovering from a case of German measles, when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.
“We just got through eating our breakfast and then this happened. The head nurse in there, she heard them planes and she heard the bombs go off and she said, ‘My God, we’re at war,’” Chase recalled today during a visit to the state Capitol to attend a Pearl Harbor Day ceremony.
Chase, 85, estimated he was 150-200 yards from the USS Arizona when the attack started. The ship was sunk and 1,177 crew members were killed in the attack on the naval base at Hawaii.
At the time Chase was an apprentice seaman in the Navy, having enlisted the previous September. He was sent to Pearl Harbor for an assignment aboard the USS Lexington, though he wound up on the USS Kaula instead.
“Planes blowed up, buildings blowed up, ships blowed up,” Chase said. “I seen torpedo planes come in and drop their torpedoes. Planes were shot down and landed right close to the hospital. It was a lot going on in a short time.”
Today’s ceremony at the Capitol was organized by the secretary of state’s office. The ceremony included a tolling of the names of boats sunk in the attack, a presentation of colors by sailors from the Naval Operational Support Center in Little Rock and music, including “Taps,” by the Natural State Brass Ensemble.
Gene McVay, department commander for the Arkansas Chapter of the American Legion, gave a speech in which he suggested the lessons of Pearl Harbor may not have been learned.
“America was not secure on Dec. 7, 1941. America was not secure on Sept. 11, 2001, when we suffered another terrible attack on our homeland,” McVay said.
“I wish I could say with certainty that our 92,000 miles of coastline and our borders are secure today,” he said.
Chase said after the ceremony he shared McVay’s concerns about the nation’s security.
“We’re not prepared for something else right now,” Chase said.
