Pearl Harbor bombing 68 years later

Today we remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, which caught the United States by surprise and brought us into World War II. For an interesting 9-minute Readers Digest video with footage from the bombing, click here.

In today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette, I chatted with Bob Hunt of Decorah (right), now 91. He was a 23-year-old torpedoman on the No. 1 line on the USS Tambor submarine cruising off the coast of Wake Island that day (Dec. 8, because it was on the other side of the International Date line) when it, too, was bombed. We alway remember Pearl Harbor because that's where the American fleet had gathered. But Wake Island and others were also bombed as the Japanese moved across the Pacific Ocean.

Bob wound up serving 12 consecutive patrols on the Tambor, an unheard of number, which is why his recollections have been complied in the book, "We Were Pirates, A Torpedoman's Pacific War" that was written by Bob's former neighbor in Decorah, Robert Schultz, now a professor of English at Roanoake College, Virginia, and one of Robert's friends. The book as available on amazon.com

I had an interesting conversation with Bob, who spared no words in talking about his life during the war and after it, buying his father's Hunt's Variety Store in Decorah and then serving as the director of Decorah's parks and recreation. As we talked, Bob gave me a typewritten copy of the diary he kept throughout the war, beginning with the bombing at Wake Island because he knew that was the start of America's involvement.

I've had a chance to read parts of Bob's diary as the submarine cruised the Pacific Ocean and tried to take out any Japanese ships  they saw. It was often a harrowing experience in a submarine (it always seemed like night when it was submerged, Bob says) especially when the torpedoes (fish) didn't behave expected.

As an example, here's an excerpt from June 2, 1943, that sure makes you appreciate the danger these guys went through:

"Sighted light early this morning. turned out to be a ship (7,000 ton freighter) -- made night surface approach, fired three fishh less than 1,000 yards, the ship was blinking at us when we fired. One of the fish ran erratic and came back at us. We gave her full rudder and it missed us. A little more and she would of blown us all to hell. It wasn't half an hour ago so am still a little shaky -- first time really scared. One hit on the ship and she went down fast. It makes quite a sight to watch as long as it's the other guy. Have had a lot of trouble with fish. Hope we get at least another ship. We sure don't want anymore tangles with our own fish."