Pearl Harbor survivor recalls a day that will live in infamy.Byline: PROFILE by The Register-Guard Name: Karl Drew, 84, Eugene Claim to fame: Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. military installations, including the chief U.S. survivor Background: Born and raised in Nebraska, Drew moved to California after graduating from high school and took a job as a carpenter. In 1939, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After boot camp Software from Apple that enables an Intel x86-based Macintosh to host the Windows XP operating system. Boot Camp is used to divide the hard disk into Windows and Mac partitions, to install the necessary drivers and to create a dual boot environment. in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , he was stationed aboard the USS Minneapolis, a cruiser. The Minneapolis was in most of the major battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II - Wake Island, Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal. On Nov. 30, 1942, the Minneapolis took two torpedo hits from a Japanese destroyer and was severely damaged in the Battle of Tassafaronga The Battle of Tassafaronga is sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island or, in Japanese sources, as the Battle of Lunga Point (Japanese: ルンガ沖夜戦). in the Solomon Islands. Drew was transferred stateside state·side adj. 1. Of or in the continental United States. 2. Alaska Of or in the 48 contiguous states of the United States. adv. Informal 1. , and later was assigned to a destroyer running escort duty with battleships The list of battleships includes all battleships since 1859, listed alphabetically. The list also contains battlecruisers which share most of the characteristics of a battleship or have otherwise been referred to as battleships. and aircraft carriers. After the war, Drew moved to Saginaw, where his parents had recently moved. He worked in several small sawmills before landing a job with Weyerhaeuser, where he was employed as an electrician for 32 years. Anchors away: The opportunity to travel and visit exotic ports of call helped Drew select the Navy over the Army and the Marine Corps. "The main reason I enlisted in the Navy was they had this old saying, `Join the Navy and see the world,' ' he said. A date that will live in infamy Notoriety; condition of being known as possessing a shameful or disgraceful reputation; loss of character or good reputation. At Common Law, infamy was an individual's legal status that resulted from having been convicted of a particularly reprehensible crime, rendering him : When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the Minneapolis was at sea for gunnery practice about 20 miles from Pearl Harbor. "The Japanese were making runs on battleship row. They didn't come after us. Those ships in the harbor were like sitting ducks," Drew said. Had the light cruiser not been out to sea that fateful Sunday morning, Drew says the crew members surely would have suffered horrific causalities. After the attack, Drew and the men aboard the Minneapolis took on provisions, refueled and patrolled the area until late January 1942, when she joined a carrier task force to raid the Gilbert and Marshall islands. - Jim Feehan If you know someone who would make a great subject for a Profile, send it to Jim Murez at jmurez@guardnet.com or P.O. Box 10188, Eugene OR 97440. CAPTION(S): Karl Drew, who enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1939 and survived Pearl Harbor, says he was drawn by the opportunity to travel. |
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