By The Associated Press’s Audrey McAvoy
Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor (AP) When 17-year-old high school student Bob Fernandez enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August 1941, he believed he would go dancing and travel the world.
When Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, a Navy base in Hawaii, four months later, he was trembling from explosions and delivering ammo to artillery personnel so his ship’s guns could fire back.
Fernandez, 100, said, “When those things go off like that, we didn’t know what’s what.” We were unaware that we were at war.
To commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the attack that sparked the United States’ entry into World War II, two bombing survivors, both 100 years of age or older, had intended to return to Pearl Harbor on Saturday. The Navy and the National Park Service will hold a commemorative event where they will join active-duty soldiers, veterans, and members of the public.
Due to health concerns, Fernandez had to postpone his original plans to join them.
Bob Fernandez, a Pearl Harbor Navy veteran, smiles for a portrait taken at his home in Lodi, California, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024. (Godofredo A. V. Squez/AP Photo)
The bombing claimed the lives of over 2,300 American soldiers. The USS Arizona, which sank during the engagement, contained 1,177 sailors and Marines, or about half. On the submerged ship, the remains of over 900 Arizona crew men remain interred.
At 7:54 a.m., the same time the attack started eight decades ago, there will be a moment of silence. To shatter the silence, aircraft in missing man formation are scheduled to fly overhead.
In the past, dozens of survivors participated in the yearly remembering, but as survivors have gotten older, attendance has decreased. According to a list kept up to date by Kathleen Farley, the state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors in California, there are currently only 16 survivors left. According to military historian J. Michael Wenger, on the day of the attack, there were around 87,000 military personnel on Oahu.
Although many people praise Pearl Harbor survivors as heroes, Fernandez doesn’t think of himself in that light.
I am not a hero. He told The Associated Press over the phone from California, where he lives with his nephew in Lodi, “I’m just an ammunition passer.”
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Fernandez was working as a mess cook aboard his ship, the USS Curtiss, and he had a dance date set for that evening at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki.
While waiting tables during breakfast, he provided food and coffee for the sailors. Then there was a sound of alarm. Fernandez had a glimpse of a plane passing by via a porthole that had the red ball emblem painted on Japanese aircraft.
FILE: During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the destroyer USS Shaw is hit by bombs and explodes. This image was released by the U.S. Navy. (AP/U.S. Navy, File)AP
In order to start passing 5-inch, 38-caliber ammunition to the ship’s cannons, Fernandez hurried down three decks to a magazine room where he and other sailors waited for someone to open a door.
Over the years, he has told interviewers that when he heard gunshots overhead, several of his fellow sailors were crying and praying.
Fernandez remarked, “I was a little afraid because I had no idea what the hell was going on.”
A Japanese jet struck the ship’s cannons and collided with one of its cranes. According to the Navy History and Heritage Command, its guns struck a dive bomber shortly after, which collided with the ship and detonated below deck, igniting the hangar and main decks.
Fernandez’s ship, the Curtiss, suffered injuries to about 60 of its crew and lost 21 men.
You know, we lost a lot of wonderful folks. According to Fernandez, they didn’t accomplish nothing. However, we can never predict what will occur during a conflict.
Fernandez had to clean up debris after the incident. He kept watch that night with a gun to ensure that nobody attempted to board. When it was time to sleep, he dozed off close to the corpses of the ship. Only after being awakened and informed by a fellow sailor did he know that.
Fernandez drove a forklift at a cannery in San Leandro, California, following the war. Mary Fernandez, his 65-year-married wife, passed away in 2014. He has an 82-year-old son who resides in Arizona. A stepdaughter and two additional sons have passed away.
He has made three trips to Hawaii to take part in the commemoration of Pearl Harbor.
Fernandez still likes music, and if he can, he goes dancing at a local restaurant once a week. Frank Sinatra’s version of “All of Me,” which his nephew Joe Guthrie claimed he still knows by heart, is his favorite song.
According to Guthrie, the women are drawn to him like moths to a flame.
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