Barney Ross
Barney Ross
Barney Rosswas an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBoxer
Date of Birth23 December 1909
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
eight marshall orders strike
We got orders to strike the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. We had a task force with the Enterprise. We had two or three cruisers and probably eight or 10 destroyers.
american-athlete
We were very fortunate that the carriers weren't in the harbor.
american-athlete family
I had been out there long enough. I had not seen my family for four years.
american-athlete coming planes
They got word that the Japanese planes were coming back, so we sunk her ourselves so the Japanese wouldn't get it. We didn't want the Japanese to get it intact.
american-athlete people
It was lucky for me. It wasn't lucky for the nine people that got killed and the 20 that were injured.
american-athlete
Destroyers did not have chaplains because they were too small.
american-athlete attacked fleet japanese six
Our duty was to try and find the Japanese fleet. We never did find the Japanese fleet and I am awfully glad, because they had attacked us there with six carriers, three battleships, 10 or 15 cruisers, and about 20 destroyers.
american-athlete dropping harbor struck
We managed to get underway, and I don't know to this day why we didn't get struck or take a torpedo, but we didn't. We got outside of the exit of the harbor and we started dropping depth charges.
american-athlete arizona burning came fires pearl pitch ships
When we came back into Pearl it was pitch dark, and we could see the fires from the Arizona and the other ships still burning in the harbor.
blue buoys standing-alone
I was standing on the deck of the USS Blue, a destroyer. We were all alone out there at this buoy, tied up.
fire-burning black ships
Everything was black in the harbor, but there were still some fires burning on the ships.
morning ships three
All we had aboard the ship that morning was one Annapolis graduate and three reserves.
break-up might locks
The gunner's mate came up and started breaking the locks on the ammunition. Everything was locked up for fear that someone might go in there with a cigarette or something.
war years navy
I was 20 years old at Pearl Harbor. I was in the Navy about a year and four months before the war.