Pearl Harbor Through The Eyes of a Survivor,TMC Gerald O JONES   
by Susi Pentico  
Copyright-2001, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

My Uncle, TMC Gerald O JONES was in Pearl Harbor on the morning
of the invasion on the United States. He was completing a trip 
from the USS Arizona, delivering a message by hand, to vital, 
to do in code. As they tied up to the pier, they (he and his 
shipmate) heard planes, many, many planes. They looked up and 
saw the planes coming in. They ran to a tower and got up in the 
tower. They pulled their guns to shoot and discovered they only 
had guns, no ammunitions. Some of the servicemen on the ground, 
threw their guns at the planes. The men in the planes were so low 
to ground, some men in the watch towers could see eye to eye with 
them. 

My Uncle said plane after plane tried to take off and never made 
it into the air. The ships sank in the harbor at a sickening rate. 
The fires, screams, guns exploding and ships breaking up was an 
enormously disheartening sight.

He described the men and their injuries and deaths. The death of 
the ships, the destruction of the planes, runways, and hangers 
area. ( I saw the hangers at Hickam Air Force Base where the shell 
damage was never repaired in 1968.) 

He never forgot Pearl Harbor, ever. Many different events brought 
about recollections of different events of that day and the days 
that followed. 

He being a cowboy from off the range and who always carried a gun 
or rifle for protection on the range, was very frustrated at his 
country not letting the men be armed. He indicated that there was 
much indication this was going to happen but no one would take 
action.

He was a submariner but he did things besides what his rate said. 
He left Pearl Harbor and was at sea for months, almost a year. 
While at sea,( he was small of stature) he was the person whom 
crawled down a torpedo tube to disarm a torpedo that did not fire 
correctly, so the ship would not blow up. He developed a different 
firing device for the torpedo and by the time the ship got to harbor 
months later it was a proven piece of equipment and adapted it by 
the United States Navy. It is probably not used today but was used 
for years. 

He developed many other instruments that he gave to the Navy also.
He served 20 years and retired as a Chief being requested to change 
over to a Warrant Officer. He was ready to do new things, which he 
did making headlines also.

TMC Gerald O JONES dcd.