Memories of Pearl Harbor survivor, Whittier man still vivid 71 years later
"I had my back to a hatch and the one bomb that hit the ship hit down below and sent up this hot searing air," he said. "That's what got me in both legs. If I had been wearing long pants, I would have been OK but I was wearing the approved uniform of the day: white shorts, skivvy shirt and tennis shoes."
Then, there was the call to abandon ship because the oil fires from the nearby USS Arizona were too close, he said. Donahue jumped into the water. He was picked up by a boat and eventually taken to to Ford Island where a mess hall had been turned into a hospital. He was treated for his burns.
As for his thoughts after the attack, he said, "You're too busy to think of things like that. I thought that gee, this is quite serious. I wonder where it's going to go from here. I thought it was a dirty trick to pull."
Donahue stayed in the hospital for two weeks Ironically, that was his first trip off the ship. He hadn't gone ashore because he was trying to save money for a Christmas gift for his parents.
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