SURVIVED USS ARIZONA SINKING
DECEMBER 7, 1941
Seaman First Class Clarendon Robert Hetrick was one of the 335 fortunate survivors of the sinking of USS Arizona when the Japanese launched their unexpected air attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Historical records reflect that 1,177 officers and men died on the Arizona. Hetrick was residing in Lemon Grove, California, when in 1940 at age 17, with the permission of his parents, he joined the Navy. Following recruit training in San Diego, he reported for duty aboard Arizona in January 1941. On the morning of the attack, Hetrick had finished his assignment as mess cook and was preparing to go ashore on liberty. He was half shaved when the attack began and said, “I didn’t know what it was. I ran out on the forward deck, looked up and saw a plane going across the sky with a red meatball on it. I knew what was going on right away then.”
As general quarters sounded, he sprinted to his battle station below deck where he had been trained to assist in moving ammunition for the big guns. Within a few minutes an armor-piercing bomb, dropped from high above, struck the forward area of Arizona’s bow, penetrated four steel decks to the ammunition magazine, and exploded there with a huge blast. The blast knocked Hetrick off his feet, blew the Number One turret into the air, a plume of black smoke rose, and an expanding fireball shot five to six hundred feet into the air. Flames engulfed much of the ship and soon many men were on fire, burning off most of their clothes, hair, and skin. Soon smoke filled the compartment where Hetrick was located, filling nostrils, throats and lungs, and the men were ordered to leave. Hetrick said, "I started up the ladder and someone was blocking the way. I said, 'Get the hell out of the way,' and he said, 'I can’t.' I pushed him up through the hatch. I saw him after I retired at a reunion ... He said, 'You saved my life. You helped me get out of the hatch. I had both hips broken.' I said, 'You didn’t tell me you were hurt, you just said you couldn’t go.'"
Once on deck, Hetrick heard an order to abandon ship as the ship was obviously sinking. Hetrick made his way to the edge of the deck, could see no lifeboats, but watched as other crewmen leaped into the water and half-swam and half-walked to nearby Ford Island next to which Arizona was moored. Seeing the fire and destruction around him, Hetrick looked at the water and jumped although he was not a swimmer. He later said, "I don’t swim, I couldn’t pass the swimming test. Everybody says, 'How’d you get there?' and I say, 'I ran across the water.' I don’t know how I got there." Over the years, he would retell the events aboard Arizona and his account almost always included the story of new shoes. The night before the attack, he had gone into Honolulu and bought himself a pair of new shoes. He was wearing them as he prepared to jump into the water. He stopped at the edge of the ship and took the shoes off, leaving them on the quarterdeck. "I left them there and hoped to get them back," he said. "I ain't seen 'em since."
After assisting in recovery efforts, Hetrick was sent to San Diego where he received aircraft and torpedo training. He was next assigned to the carrier USS Saratoga and was aboard this ship when it fought in the battles for Midway, Wake, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. During the invasion of Iwo Jima, Hetrick was injured for which he received the Purple Heart. Hetrick left the Navy in 1949 with the rate of Aviation Machinist Mate Second Class. In 1951 he joined the U.S. Air Force and was a crew chief on a B-26 bomber. He served in Korea, Virginia, Utah, France and New Mexico before retiring from the military in 1961 with the rate of Master Sergeant. Clarendon Robert Hetrick died on April 18, 2016 at the age of 92. At his request his ashes were interred in the Arizona at Pearl Harbor where the wreckage of the ship still remains.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
