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An ensign aboard the Zane recaptures the drama that changed a peaceful Sunday morning into instant war at...

PEARL HARBOR! An Eyewitness Account

By DAVID M. ARMSTRONG

That historic Sunday morning in Pearl Harbor began much as others had in the previous ten months I had spent there.

The USS Zane was observing normal, leisurely Sunday morning "holiday routine." Only the necessary swabbing of the decks and sweepdown of the living compartments were being carried out-no other ship's work even in the "spit and polish" Navy of that day. A church party was to leave the ship at 0815.

As Ensign Armstrong, I was officer of the deck of the Zane for the weekend. I had finished breakfast and started up to the quarterdeck at about 0750 to oversee the evolutions of "Morning Colors" and "Muster on Stations." The quarterdeck, I noticed, was in the capable hands of the Gangway Watch, Robert Rowell, boatswain's mate, second class.

As I walked aft to the quarterdeck I looked out at the other ships in the harbor. Much of the fleet was in for the weekend with the notable exception of the aircraft carriers. I could see fully thirty ships from where I stood. Mine was a good vantage point because the Zane was moored in the closest nest of destroyers in Middle Loch, one of several estuaries off the main harbor.

Looking eastward toward Ford Island, which dominates the center of Pearl Harbor, 1 could see nearby

Citation :	David M. Armstrong, "Pearl Harbor: An Eyewitness Account," American History Illustrated , August 1974, David M. Armstrong Papers.
Location :	East Carolina Manuscript Collection, Manuscripts and Rare Books, Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858 USA
Call Number :	David M. Armstrong Papers #555.1.g.    Display Collection Guide

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