A Somber Reminder

By Jim McCoy, Pacific Historic Parks

The August 2, 1941 issue of “At Em Arizona” is reprinted in part here to provide a sample of the news of the day on board the battleship and to remember those lost.

Copies of the “At Em Arizona” date back to 1921. In those days its banner said it was published daily aboard the USS Arizona “wherever she may be.”

In 1941 she was at Pearl Harbor and was in the words of the editors “published weekly, when practicable, for the good of the ship and service.”

The March 1941 edition includes updates on the ship’s sports teams (the rally cry for the teams was At Em Arizona). There was an announcement on more than 300 promotions, a Navy quiz, a column on eliminating profanity, health hints, and a wrap up on a ship talent competition.

Then there was a poem by Edmund Vance Cook titled “How Did You Die?” placed next to a listing of church services. These are the final four lines.

“Death comes with a crawl, or he comes with a pounce, And whether he’s slow or spry, It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts, But only how did you die?”

Continued on page 12

HISTORIC NEWSPAPERS, NEWSLETTERS SOUGHT

By Scott Pawlowski, Curator, Pearl Harbor National Memorial Here at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, we actively collect Pacific War unit and ships newspapers, also known as newsletters.

Perhaps the best known of these periodicals is “Stars and Stripes”, a military newspaper first published in 1861. The first Pacific Theater edition of “Stars and Stripes” was published in Honolulu 14 May 1945. Thankfully, sailors and soldiers did not have to wait until 1945 to have a daily or weekly newspaper about things important to them.

Most bases, ships and frequently smaller field units during the Pacific War had their own newspaper printed locally. This could be anything from a hand typed page posted to the wall or something multipage with national and international news mixed in with local stories.

They were full of stories of vital happenings around the unit. Topics covered frequently included sports scores, entertainment opportunities, training classes, promotion details, marriage announcements and thoughts on food. Many copied columns and subjects common to their hometown newspapers but with a military theater twist. Etiquette sections frequently talked about how enlisted best worked with the NonCommissioned Officers (NCOs) or what was needed to pass shore patrol. News was a rope that helped keep service men and women’s morale on course and solidarity rock solid.

Particularly on ships or very remote places, many newspapers were written by servicemen themselves. All were sanctioned by senior staff who for larger papers, frequently had significant input into the content. They had a more official agenda and approach. What makes these newspapers interesting is that they can frequently be a good source of information that would have never made it into official reports. Here in Hawaii for instance, the Valley Islander, a Maui based newspaper, loved to provide background on local dances.

Pearl Harbor National Memorial has a number of different imprints in our museum collection. They are mostly focused on units and ships in Hawai’i, such as the USS Arizona “At em-Arizona”, the USS Oklahoma “Sea-bag, ” and the USS Nevada “Cheer-up.” You may also recognize several place names hidden in titles like the Aiean, Hickam Highlights, and Kaneohe Klipper.

If you want to donate unit or ships newspapers that you own, we plan to continue to acquire these very interesting and useful publications. The publications make for good contextual research.

The newsletter editors noted the poem has been printed in many service publications and “It’s worth pondering.”

This edition named dozens of Arizona crewmembers, including 25 who assisted in salvaging the steamship IOWAN after it grounded off Government Point in June 1941. Rear Admiral Isaac. C. Kidd, Commander of Battalion Division One, offered his congratulations in the story.

Just four months later, Admiral Kidd and 15 of the 25 sailors commended in the salvage operation were among the 1,177 Arizona sailors and Marines killed in the December 7, 1941.

We highlighted the names of the crew members mentioned in this edition of At Em Arizona who perished that fateful Sunday morning.

Most of them are still entombed in the battleship beneath the USS Arizona Memorial. The 80th anniversary of their deaths is this coming December 7, 2021.

To view the entire August 2, 1941 edition of At Em Arizona, visit our website. You can also visit the National Park Service website that has 50 past issues of At Em Arizona. https://www.nps.gov/valr/ learn/historyculture/at-emarizona-newsletter.htm