This photograph was taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island shortly after the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack, 7 Dec. 1941. The view looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right-center distance. A torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California. On the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit and Raleigh, target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier. Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port. Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right. U.S. Navy planes on the seaplane ramp are on fire. Japanese writing in the lower right states that the photograph was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry. Official U.S. Navy photograph NH 50930.
The DPAA’s Battleship USS Oklahoma Underwater Disinterment and Recovery Project has recently hit the 200th identification, and the agency is now moving forward with plans to do the same for those unidentified Sailors and Marines from USS West Virginia and USS California as well.
“Over the years, America has faced many conflicts: World War II, Korean War, Vietnam and more. Unfortunately, sometimes service members do not come home, their whereabouts unknown. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) had made it their mission to use improved technology to help reunite service members and their families. Recent advances in technology have allowed scientists and researchers to explore underwater landscapes in search of the remains of missing Sailors. Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Stinson / All Hands Magazine”