USS Rigel (The First Time) |
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USS PennsylvaniaGunter's first period aboard the USS Pennsylvania was not during any interesting time in the USS Pennsylvania's history. In fact, there is nothing that is recorded to have happened during his first 6 months.
During the time that Pearl Harbor was being bombed, two months after Kenneth was transferred back to the USS Pennsylvania, the USS Pennsylvania was in dry dock at Pearl Harbor. The USS Pennsylvania, just out of range of the torpedo bombers, was one of the first to shoot at the Japanese but did not do anything significant. Fifteen men were killed, 14 missing, and 38 wounded from the attack. |
"Photo above shows the Pennsylvania and heavily damaged Cassin and Downes after the drydock was flooded... The damaged USS Helena can be seen between the Pennsylvania and the dock. In the distance, to the left of the Pennsylvania are the battleships, Maryland and capsized Oklahoma. Photo source: Navy Photographer's Mate Harold Fawcett, National Archives Collection.
Photo to the left shows damage to the hull of the Pennsylvania. |
USS Rigel (The Second Time)The time Gunter was on the USS Rigel the second time, the ship was undergoing conversion to a repair ship after being damaged in the Pearl Harbor attack. He was transferred just before the ship was reclassified.
The picture to the right is a picture of the ship the day before being reclassified. While Kenneth was not on the ship on the exact date, he was just over a week before. |
USS West VirginiaFor the period of time Gunter was aboard the USS West Virginia, it was also undergoing repairs due to very serious damage from Pearl Harbor, in which 6 torpedoes hit the port side. With a patch over the damaged area of the hull, the battleship was emptied of water, refloated on May, 17 1942, and docked in Drydock Number One on June 9. During repairs, workers found 66 sailors who drowned as the ship sank. Three of the 66 were found in a storeroom compartment, where they had survived for a small while on emergency rations and fresh water from a battle station; a nearby calendar calendar indicated that they were alive for 16 days. It was also during this time, on April 1, 1942, that Kenneth was promoted to Radioman third class.
The picture to the left is a picture of the USS West Virginia during June of 1942. |