After studying welding, Fumio Steve Shimizu got a job working on a secret, underground fuel-storage
After studying welding, Fumio Steve Shimizu got a job working on a secret, underground fuel-storage facility at Pearl Harbor. His quest to better himself would result in having a front-row seat to one of the most infamous events in history. Steve and the men of his dayshift crew were waiting for the elevator to come up at 8:00 am, standing along a mountain ridge overlooking the harbor. “From where we stood you could see all the ships lined up,” he recalled as he spoke of the planes breaking formation to sweep down on their targets. “The first one was the Arizona, which took a direct hit.” The pilot had crashed his plane into the smokestacks, resulting in a huge explosion and causing the ship to capsize. The speed at which all this occurred is why so many sailors were trapped inside and many others died instantly. Of the 2,400-plus military and civilians who died during the attack, 1,177 were from the USS Arizona. Steve said that the USS Oklahoma was attacked in the same way..Seeing an attack of this magnitude would either inspire patriotism in you or make you never want anything to do with a battle. For Steve, the choice was clear but the ability to volunteer would not be afforded to him, as he would soon be reclassified as an Enemy Alien. Steve lost his job at Pearl Harbor because of his Japanese heritage, yet his skills as a welder were in high demand, especially now that the US was in a state of war. Steve’s opportunity to join the 442nd came along in 1943 and he went to the mainland for training.Read the rest in Shane Sato’s The Go For Broke Spirit. -- source link
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