Pearl Harbor’s Overlooked Wrecks: The USS Oklahoma and USS Utah

On this episode of Our American Stories, regular contributor Anne Clare tells the lesser-known story of two ships lost at Pearl Harbor, the USS Utah and the USS Oklahoma. During the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, the Utah, a retired battleship used as a target ship, was torpedoed and left where it sank on Ford Island, where its quiet memorial still stands today. The Oklahoma was hit by multiple torpedoes and capsized in minutes, trapping hundreds inside. Ann recounts rescues, acts of bravery, and the memorials that honor the dead, including the 429 white pillars representing Oklahoma’s fallen crew, and what it means to remember them.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including yours. Send them to our American Stories dot com
with some of our favorites up next to story from
our regular contributor Anne Claire and is a choir director, teacher, organist,
and a great writer on all things World War two history. Today,

(00:32):
she says, well, that's the story of two ships sunk
at the attack on Pearl Harbor. Take it away, and.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
The island of a Wahoo in the state of Hawaii
has a huge place in American history, particularly in the
history of America's involvement in World War Two. The Japanese
attacks on December seventh, nineteen forty one, which launched the
US into the war, took place on that island. These

(01:11):
attacks did a great deal of damage and caused a
great loss of life, as well as the complete losses
of three ships, the USS Arizona, the USS Utah, and
the USS Oklahoma. The Arizona Memorial is open to the

(01:34):
general public as part of the World War II Valor
in the Pacific National Monument, and it's an excellent place
to visit and to remember those who were lost. Unlike
the Arizona Memorial, The Utah and the Oklahoma Memorials are
actually found on Ford Island, which is still used by

(01:54):
the military as part of joint based Pearl Harbor Hickham.
So to see these memorials needs special permission, or if
you're fortunate enough, as we were, military friends stationed in
the area who will act as escort. The resting place
of the Utah is a rather lonely and unassuming place.

(02:16):
When we visited, our party had the little parking area
to ourselves. By nineteen forty one, the Utah was already
passed her prime. Launched in nineteen oh nine, she served
in World War One. She was demilitarized in nineteen thirty
one and repurposed as a target ship for training. The
Utah was on the opposite side of Ford Island from

(02:37):
the Arizona and other prime targets for Japanese planes. Just
why she ended up having six torpedoes fired on her
is an open question. Perhaps it was a case of
mistaken identity, but whatever the reason, sixty four of the
training ship's officers and crew were lost. It might have
been more if Lieutenant Commander Solomon Issqwyth hadn't organized a

(02:58):
rescue crew. When he and others who'd escaped heard the
frantic knocking on the hull of survivors trapped inside, Braving
Japanese planes still strafing the harbor, they returned to their
sunken ship to cut the hull open and save those
they could. The Utah was never salvaged. It still rests
in Pearl Harbor as part of its own memorial entoombing

(03:19):
those who went down with her. The original memorial for
the Utah was a plaque mounted on the recked remains.
A new memorial was built in nineteen seventy two. The
simple white structure offers a close view of the ship's
remains below the raised American flag, a plaque commemorates those
who were lost. Like the Arizona survivors, survivors of the

(03:42):
Utah have the option of having their ashes returned to
the ship upon their passing to join those who never left.
The memorial for the USS Oklahoma is also found on
Ford Island. Unlike the Utah, the USS Oklahoma was still

(04:03):
a fully active battleship. On the morning of December seventh,
nineteen forty one, she was tied up just down battleship
row from the Arizona. Struck by at least nine torpedoes,
it took only thirteen minutes for the Oklahoma to capsize.
Sailors tried to evacuate over the starboard side, but as
she rolled over, hundreds were trapped inside. There are many

(04:26):
stories of bravery from the Oklahoma's tragedy. Honors given to
her crew include two posthumous Mettals of Honor and one
Navy Cross. One award particularly caught my eye as it
was given just a couple of years ago. It was
given to father Aloysius H. Schmidt. He had just finished
morning mass and was reportedly hearing confession on board the

(04:49):
USS Oklahoma when the first torpedoes hit. He assisted twelve
sailors to escape through a porthole. When he attempted his
own escape, he became stock. Hearing other sailors in the
compartment behind him. He insisted on being pushed back into
the doomed vessel so that others could escape. His remains
were identified recently, and his family was awarded his posthumous

(05:12):
Silver Star in twenty seventeen. Those who escaped the Oklahoma
worked frantically for days to cut through the ship's hull
to rescue trapped survivors, but in spite of their best efforts,
they were only able to rescue thirty two. All told,
the Oklahoma suffered four hundred and twenty nine losses, the
second highest loss of life after the Arizona. In memory

(05:35):
of those lives lost, four hundred and twenty nine white
marble pillars stand at the Oklahoma Memorial. A blackstone marker
at the memorial sums up the meaning of the place best.
A portion of it reads. Manning the rails as Navy
vessels passed through Pearl Harbor, sailors and marines stand at
attention along the ship's railing and superstructure. The crew's dress

(05:59):
uniform contrast sharply against the gray vessels in full dress uniform.
The ship's crew stands at attention in a display of
respect and honor, coming home for a final time. By
manning the rails, Those white marble pillars are meant to
represent those missing crew members who will no longer be

(06:20):
able to man their ship's rails. The USS Oklahoma herself
no longer rests in Pearl Harbor. The Navy attempted to
salvage her patching and refloating her. However, the damage was
too great. The Oklahoma was decommissioned in nineteen forty four.
She was sold for scrap. However, en route to the
West Coast, she broke her toe and sank the seventeenth

(06:41):
of May nineteen forty seven. I'm grateful that I've had
the opportunity to pay my respects at these memorials. If
you ever have that opportunity, I definitely recommend a visit
as well as we remember lives lost and sacrifices given
as people fought and struggled to preserve the freedoms that

(07:01):
we cherish.

Speaker 1 (07:06):
And a beautiful job on the production by Monty and
a special thanks to Anne Clair for sharing the stories
of the ussc Utah and Oklahoma here on our American
Story Leehabib Here, as we approach our nation's two hundred

(07:32):
and fiftieth anniversary, I'd like to remind you that all
the history stories you're here on this show are brought
to you by the great folks at Hillsdale College. And
Hillsdale isn't just a great school for your kids or
grandkids to attend, but for you as well. Go to
Hillsdale dot edu to find out about their terrific free
online courses. Their series on communism is one of the
finest I've ever seen. Again, go to Hillsdale dot edu

(07:55):
and sign up for their free and terrific online courses.