Escape
from West Virginia
A Pearl Harbor Veter an Remembers
From Adone “ Cal ” Calderone
SEVEN JAPANESE TYPE 91 AERIAL TORPEDOES HIT THE PORT SIDE OF WEST VIRGINIA , WITH SIX EXPLODING . DESPITE BEST EFFORTS TO FIGHT FIRES AND KEEP HER AFLOAT , THE REMAINING CREW WAS ORDERED TO ABANDON SHIP AROUND 2:00 PM .
DURING REPAIRS TO LATER RAISE WEST VIRGINIA FROM THE BOTTOM OF PEARL HARBOR , THE BODIES OF 66 SAILORS WERE FOUND , TRAPPED BELOW DECK . THREE WERE FOUND IN AN UNFLOODED STOREROOM COMPARTMENT , A CALENDAR INDICATING THEY HAD SURVIVED FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS FOLLOWING THE ATTACK .
SPRING 2017 11