Eighteen year old Frank Dolan was aboard the repair ship, The U.S.S. Vestal the morning of December 7, 1941. The Vestal was tied up to the Battleship Arizona, waiting to start some minor repairs the next morning. But at 7:55 a.m., the Japanese began their sneak atack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.. Two bombs hit the Vestal, and the explosion of the Arizona literally blew all the crew from the Vestal's deck into the water. The Vestal's captain, Cassen Young, swam back to the Vestal and steered his ship to the narest beach, but not before rescueing the Arizona's few survivors.
Dolan helped bring badly burned Sailors and Marines from the plank connecting the two ships. Smaller boats transported them to the hospital, but Dolan feels that very few survived, they were so badly burned.
Over three thousand Americans lost their lives that day. It was the beginning of World War Two with the loss of over three hundred thousand additional American lives.
Joan Hallmark, Reporting joanhallmark@kltv.com
