USS Oklahoma - BB-37
The USS Oklahoma was sunk on December 7, 1941 in the attack by the Japanese on the Pearl Harbor Naval base. A total of 429 crew died when she capsized from torpedo and bomb hits.
The USS Oklahoma capsized in Pearl Harbor
I awoke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off, I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves
Some nights I awaken and I can't breathe, its as if I'm drowning. I sputter, coughing and catch my breath, my heart racing. I think to myself, what the hell just happened? Its as if I'm trapped in an under water compartment with nowhere to go and the water is over my head, the last seconds of life. The final moments........... aboard the Oklahoma.
The USS Oklahoma Barbershop - many a fine lad had his hair cut here.
The USS Oklahoma was too badly damaged to be repaired. The armaments and the superstructure were removed. After WWII, the hull was sold to a scrap company. In 1947 she was being towed to the US mainland but sunk in a bad storm somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The journey of the USS Oklahoma was over.
Somewhere in the Pacific is the final resting place of the ship where so many brave men died. Their ghosts endlessly walk the gangways, the decks, the halls, the compartments and the stairs. Wondering why they had to die. Lives cut tragically short, unfulfilled destinies, never to be seen promises. A lonely ocean is the sad stage for this never ending tragedy. How do I know this? I know, because I was there.
Many miles away there's a shadow on the door
Of a cottage on the shore
Of a dark Scottish lake
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