Jack Adams
You could tell that America was gearing up for war.
When I graduated from high school in Dayton, Texas, in May 1941, there were no jobs.
We were taught self-defense, small-arms shooting, first aid, seamanship, personal hygiene and health, firefighting, discipline and how to properly pack a sea bag. Believe me, these things would be part of reality later on.
We made air attacks on the Japanese anchorage, sinking and damaging several vessels. However, the Japanese were alerted to the fact that American carriers were nearby.
We began intercepting Japanese radio transmissions, which indicated the two forces were very close to each other. We found out later that we were moving in opposite directions and passed each other by 32 miles.
There were a number of Japanese freighters tied up in San Francisco Bay. I was told that these ships were being quarantined.
The search for the Jap fleet continued for four days until we returned to Pearl Harbor on Thursday, December 11.
The Japanese invaded Tulagi, in the Solomon Islands, on May 4.
The good news was that Enterprise and the newly arrived Yorktown had attacked the Marshall and Gilbert islands. Those attacks had a great effect on morale.
Our task force put to sea in early January 1942, to attack the Japanese in the Marshall and Gilbert islands, but the mission was called off on the eve of the attack.
On December 5, 1941, Chicago led a task force built around the carrier Lexington to Midway Island, at the western end of the Hawaiian Islands, about 1,000 miles from Pearl Harbor.
My wife and I traveled to Hawaii in 1974, and we went to the Arizona Memorial. It was a chilling experience thinking about Frank and other boot-camp buddies who were on the ship.
My observations of Japanese naval fighting men, their abilities and equipment led me to believe that they gave a better account of themselves than we did.
My battle station was to operate one of the three shell hoists for the after 8-inch gun turret.
My assignment was in the communications office, where I typed out dispatches.
Lexington did launch its air group when a Japanese carrier was reported.
It was very fortunate that our three Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers - Enterprise, Saratoga and Lexington - missed the Pearl Harbor attack.
In basic training we had been told to watch out for Japanese spies.
If it's free, it's advice; if you pay for it, it's counseling; if you can use either one, it's a miracle.
I was on watch in the communications office on December 7. Messages came in about 6:30 a.m. concerning unidentified submarines in the outer area of Pearl Harbor.