My Troubles With Time by Benson Grayson Page A

treacherously attacked Honolulu. This is your opportunity to pay them back for the death and destruction they have inflicted on our country. I am confident you will do your duty. Just remember Pearl Harbor!”
    We are now within range of the Japanese carrier, but I have delayed giving the order until they identify us as an enemy ship. Scrutinizing the carrier through my binoculars, I see officers on the bridge of the carrier pointing toward us and members of the crew scurrying to battle stations. It is time to give gun control the order to fire.
    I am glad that the carrier has finally detected us. I have maintained radio silence to avoid letting the Japanese become aware of our location. Now I order the signal room to inform Pearl Harbor that the
Arizona
has found the Japanese carrier task force and is about to engage.
    As we plunge forward, I realize I have forgotten to raise the battle flag. My orders to do so are swiftly carried out. I gaze at the huge flag, feeling a surge of patriotism.
    A sudden roar almost shatters my eardrums. All three of our turrets have fired simultaneously. The
Arizona
rolls from the recoil. To avoid the embarrassment of falling on my face from the shock I grab a railing.
    Thick smoke envelops the carrier. Then there is the sound of a massive explosion. Debris hurtles through the air. When the smoke clears, there is only wreckage, where the giant Japanese carrier had been only seconds before. One of our shots must have struck the vessel at a vital spot.
    “Good shooting,” I congratulate the crew via the loudspeaker. Now it is the unhappy lot of the next Japanese carrier in line to become the target of the
Arizona’s
mighty broadsides.
    The second carrier takes much longer to sink than the first. Salvo after salvo from our turrets hit the vessel. The damage they inflict is obvious; it shudders after each broadside hits and smoke is rising skyward from some half-dozen fires. Still it refuses to sink.
    We are losing precious time! The two remaining carriers are fleeing as a swarm of escort vessels heads towards us. Finally, the carrier’s prow rises as it sinks by the stern. Not a moment too soon!
    I order gun control to shift fire to the third carrier. Its stern is to us, affording a minimum target. Several of our salvos bracket it, but it is not hit.
    The lookouts report a Japanese destroyer will cross our path, hoping to force the
Arizona
to veer off from its pursuit of the carrier. I can’t permit our prey to escape!
    “Steer full ahead!” I order grimly.
    We hit the destroyer amidships. There is a loud crashing sound. The
Arizona
shudders for a second, then continues on. We have cut the destroyer in two. Damage control reports we have sustained some damage to our prow and are taking water.
    Should I break off our attack before the
Arizona
takes further blows? I decide not. Hopefully, the ship’s pumps and temporary measures will hold the leakage at bay until we destroy the two remaining carriers. We press on with the attack.
    Our salvos are beginning to hit the third Japanese carrier. It has lost speed and smoke is coming from its stern. Only a few minutes more and the
Arizona’s
guns should send it to the bottom.
    A new danger appears on the scene! The lookouts report that a Japanese heavy cruiser is rushing towards us, its guns blazing. It is tempting to shift our fire to the new target, but I resist the temptation. That would be what the enemy wants. The carrier would take the opportunity to escape.
    Anxiously peering through my binoculars at the carrier, I see flames erupting from a new fire near its bridge. It has virtually stopped all forward movement and is settling in the water. Thank God! I can temporarily shift the
Arizona’s
broadsides to dispose of the Japanese cruiser.
    It is not a second too soon. Fire from the cruiser has knocked our number three turret out of action. Its guns are absurdly awry and the survivors of the turret crew are desperately fighting the fire. If