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Lonnie Cook
| Seaman Lonnie Cook USN (deceased) Lonnie David Cook was born 19th November 1920 in Morris, Oklahoma. He graduated from high school in 1939 and, with few jobs available in rural Oklahoma, enrolled at Connors State Agricultural College in Warner, Oklahoma. By early 1940, he decided to join the Navy and on 2nd July he boarded the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. The Arizona was moored at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, in a row of battleships, the crews on edge as they waited for news about America's inevitable entry into the world war. Cook, a 21-year-old seaman first class, had $60 in his pocket, his winnings from a craps game the night before, and he was ready for a day in Honolulu on liberty. As he closed the locker door, he felt a rumbling. The chief turret captain burst into the hallway with the news: The Japanese were attacking. Cook raced for his battle station, inside the turret gun pit, where he helped load primer, gunpowder and a shell. The ship shuddered. The lights went out. Smoke filled the room. He and the other men stayed in the turret, waiting for the strafing to end. They stuffed their t-shirts into side ports, fearful of a gas attack. Finally, they climbed down onto the starboard quarterdeck. The Arizona had sunk low enough that Cook was able to step off the deck onto the launch, which took him to Ford Island, where he remained the rest of the day. After the attack on 7th December 1941, Cook was assigned to another ship, the USS Patterson, then two months later, transferred to the Aylwin, a destroyer. The Aylwin was part of a task force that fought in a battle in the Coral Sea and, a month later, part of the forces in the battle of Midway. He was discharged in 1948. Lonnie passed away on 31st July 2019, aged 98. |
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The Calm Before the Storm by Robert Taylor. Dawn had broken to reveal another glorious day in paradise, and on board the USS Arizona and the repair ship USS Vestal alongside, the crew were taking it easy. All next week they would be hard at work preparing for sea, but today was Sunday, and that meant light duties. On the Arizona, the duty crew were preparing the stern of the battleship, erecting the awnings for the ships band at Morning Colors. The young officer in charge smiled approvingly, it was an inspiring scene and he thought that the recently overhauled battleship had never looked more impressive. But within the hour he would glance skyward, and a frown of puzzlement crease his forehead as, out of nowhere, Japanese carrier-based aircraft were descending on the unsuspecting naval base. As he registers the bright red circles on their wings, the blood froze in his veins. He realized that hell had come to Pearl Harbor! Then, just before 08.10hrs, the unthinkable happened. A bomb from a Nakajima B5N Kate high-altitude bomber penetrated the ship's armor plated deck and exploded in the forward magazine. Within seconds a cataclysmic blast ripped through the Arizona, devastating the mighty ship which would burn for two days, taking with her the lives of nearly twelve hundred men. In tribute to all those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor on that infamous day Robert Taylor has created his poignant new landmark painting. The Arizona has since become the focal point for the memorial at Pearl Harbor and this moving piece portrays this proud ship as those who survived would surely like to remember her - in all her glory prior to the attack. |
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