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Rappahannock Newt Staff Writer
Many who were alive on the day, 50 years ago this week, that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor remember where they were when they heard of the attack. Very few, probably, remember as well as Sperryville’s Jesse Pond, who was onboard a ship in Pearl Harbor that fateful morning.
On a Sunday when most of the crew of his ship, the U.S.S. Chew, were ashore on leave or attending church services, NaVy Fireman First Class Pond was called upon to repel the enemy planes with a makeshift gun crew.
His four-hour duty watch was due to end in the engine room at 8 a.m. Dec. 7, 1941, and as was customary his replacement, one “Slop Chute” Gray, relieved him 15 minutes early.
At 7:45 a.m. he went topside from the engine room, his heavy denim clothes sopping with sweat— the temperature in the engine room was about 125 degrees.
The mess cook went to get his breakfast and Mr. Pond noticed it was looking like a nice day, weatherwise. Just before he went down the hatch to eat he saw an airplane heading straight down, perpendicular to one of the American battleships lined up in the now-famous “Battleship Row.”
The young sailor didn’t really think anything odd about the plane: American flyers would customarily “buzz” the ships in Pearl Harbor. But once below the deck, Mr. Pond heard and explosion and the general alarm sounded.
He hurried to his battle station, the three-inch anti-aircraft gun on the forecastle. It was covered. In the din and confusion—more bombs were being dropped, battleships were on fire and, to top it off, there was only a skeleton crew aboard the U.S.S. Chew that day—he managed to assemble a group of sailors to help him get the gun uncovered and re
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