010 - The Vigilant Gunner

SEAMAN LESLIE SHORT [USS MARYLAND]
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On the morning of December 7th, a single sailor named Leslie Short sat in his machine gunner’s nest and wrote letters to the folks back in the States. As he did, the first squadron of torpedo planes swooped down towards the water and lined themselves perpendicularly with the ships in Battleship Row. Each plane let loose its single Type 91 torpedo and veered out of the way of the impending bomb blast. The torpedoes swam through the water and struck the battleships West Virginia and Oklahoma. Flumes of water shot into the air as the torpedoes exploded. Within moments, the West Virginia was engulfed in flames and the Oklahoma was rolling onto her side as water filled the hatches where the seven separate torpedoes detonated.
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Leslie Short jumped to his feet, strapped into the harnesses of his anti-aircraft gun, and took aim at the Kates flying overhead. Meanwhile, the USS Maryland’s bugler played General Quarters while the ship’s alarm sounded: “This is not a drill! This is not a drill! General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man their battle stations!”
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Soon, every machine gunner on the USS Maryland had his anti-aircraft gun trained on the Kates, Vals, and Zeroes that swarmed the sky. Seaman Leslie Short had another of the Kates in his sights and let loose with his guns. Within seconds, the torpedo bomber was engulfed in flames as it wheeled to one side and crashed into the Harbor. Short did not stop to enjoy his victory. Instead, he found another Kate approaching the Maryland and also shot it down.
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It was small consolation, though, as the first wave decimated most of the other battleships in the fleet. Soon, the Maryland would even take two hits from dive bombs as a tremendous explosion rocked the Arizona at the opposite end of Battleship Row. Even the Oklahoma, which was less than a ship’s length away, had capsized. Many of its officers and enlisted men were trapped inside the Oklahoma’s overturned hull.
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