It has been over 80 years since our nation experienced the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7th, 1941. While we often hear about the events of that day, and those that followed, from history books, nothing compares to the stories of those who experienced it first-hand. We have two accounts to share with you from Americans who lived through the attacks that day.
Serving at Pearl Harbor
Gino Gasparelli was stationed at Wheeler Field on the Hawaiian island of Oahu in December of 1941. The base had been on alert for the week preceding the attack until December 6th. With the end of the alert, personnel not on weekend duty could go out on weekend pass, but all the fighter jets remained lined up on the ramp in front of the hangar.
“I did not leave the field that Saturday because a sergeant friend and I had planned to take a trip around the island on Sunday, 7 December 1941, after breakfast,” Gasparelli explained. “After returning to my barrack from the mess hall, which was about twenty minutes to eight, I was talking to SGT Price and we heard planes that did not sound anything like our own P40 or P36 fighter planes. They also sounded like they were flying very low.” Gasparelli remembers this happening about five minutes past eight o’clock in the morning.
Then the first bomb hit one of the hangars. He ran back into the barracks screaming an attack was underway. Many of the men were still asleep or just getting ready for the day. He ordered his squad to get out, “dressed or not dressed.”
His platoon sergeant ordered everyone to “head for a row of high shrubs and small trees about seventy yards from our barrack.” Unarmed, they took cover under the foliage.
“I am positive we were spotted by some of those Japanese pilots because after a few minutes, small twigs and branches began to fall down due to the machine gun fire from those planes,” he recalled.
Fortunately, Gasparelli survived the attack and lived to tell his story of that day.
An Unbelieveable Reunion
Pat “Patsy” Thompson (nee Campbell) was just ten years old in 1941 living just outside the gates of Pearl Harbor with her family, her dad having been stationed there with the U.S. Navy.
As a girl, she loved music and dance, especially the jitterbug. On Saturday, December 6th, 1941, Patsy attended a jitterbug contest at Bloch Arena on Oahu. The emcee noticed Patsy and asked for a volunteer to be her partner. A young sailor stepped up to dance with her. The pair had the right moves to be crowned the champions that evening. They left that night not knowing one other’s name.
The attack the next morning came as a shock to Patsy and her family. As they sheltered at a neighbor’s house, they watched as Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field were destroyed.
After the war, Pat went on to marry and raise a family in the San Diego area, but she never stopped wondering what happened to her jitterbug co-champ. She started submitting letters to veterans’ newsletters to see if she could track him down.
About a year later, Pat received a message on her answering machine, "If this is Pat Thompson, I'm the sailor you're looking for." His name was Jack Evans and he had been living in San Diego area for most of his adult life. Shocked and happy, the two were reunited.
Jack Evans, Unflinching Portraits of Pearl Harbor Survivors, Smithsonian Magazine, 2011
The jitterbug duo has since danced again. They returned to Pearl Harbor at the 65th anniversary to recreate their memorable win. They both look back on fondly on what was a bright spot in an otherwise tragic time. You can find Pat’s trophy in the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.
As we all remember Pearl Harbor, it isn’t always easy to picture what really happened that day. Thanks to Gino Gasparelli and Pat Thompson for sharing their stories. Their memories add so much to the fabric of recorded history. It also serves as a great reminder to reach out to your own family and friends, who have served, to share their stories with you and the world.