Pearl Harbor Day #4 -- December 7, 2013

72 years ago a sneak attack by forces of the Japanese Empire sank much of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Empire came to regret doing this.

Heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, CA-38, was fortunate to survive the attack, as she waited to have her bottom scraped and new anti-aircraft guns installed. By December 16, she was ready to sail with a task force which attempted to relieve Wake Island. In October, 1942, under the command of Admiral Daniel J Callaghan, she was the flagship at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Callaghan knew that his task force was vastly outnumbered and outgunned, but he did his duty. He died on the bridge and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In March, 2011, I was honored to meet three men who served at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal with Callaghan on the San Francisco.

San Francisco survived the battle and was repaired at Mare Island. She served throughout the war. Her shell-torn bridge is preserved as a monument at Land's End in San Francisco.  I took the photo on 07-January-2012.