Nelson

Stories preserved for all time

Veterans recall deadly attack

JOHN GRABER, THE OLYMPIAN

TUMWATER -- Thomas C. "Tomcat" Nelson was 21 when he lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Yelm resident saw the bombs dropping in front of him. He lost friends in the fight. And yet he would take Dec. 7, 1941, over Sept. 11, 2001, any time.

"At Pearl Harbor, we knew right away we were at war," Nelson said. "We had an enemy, and we knew if we stuck with it long enough we would win eventually.

"This thing in September was a great big uncertainty. We didn't know who, what, when, where, why or how. We still don't. Even if we catch (Osama bin Laden) it still isn't going to settle it. We're not fighting a country; we're fighting an idea."

Nelson was one of about 150 people who gathered at the Olympic Flight Museum on Friday evening to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the attack in Hawaii.

"It was one of the most significant events in world history," Museum Director Derrick Baena said.

"We can't let it go. We can't forget it, especially in light of what is happening today. What we can't forget is World War II veterans are dying by the thousands every day. This is a chance for our younger generation to meet them."

Videos and slides were shown during dinner, which was held among World War II fighter planes, jeeps and anti-aircraft guns.

During the ceremony, Nelson described his experiences. He was a torpedo plane radio operator on the USS San Francisco and had barely gotten one foot out of bed when he heard the first explosions. He initially thought an American plane had crashed.

"They used to dive like that all the time," he said.

Then he looked out his window. A plane buzzed by so close that he could only see part of it, and it was the part with a red Japanese military insignia.

His plane was too shot up to get off the ground. So, like many other crewmen, he set to work repairing it and securing ammunition in the middle of the battle.

"What else could you do?" he said.

The idea was to get ready for taking the fight to the other side, and Nelson soon got his chance. The San Francisco survived the attack, and 10 days later Nelson and the rest of his crewmates steamed out of the harbor and into the war.

John Graber covers law enforcement and the military for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465.

On the Web:

  VIDEO: Images, eyewitness accounts of day of infamy (USA TODAY)

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