VETERANS RECALL PEARL HARBOR, WAKE ISLAND

Melvin D. Bacon and John Power placed a memorial wreath in the Mississippi River Tuesday to commemorate the deaths of U.S. servicemen who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor 58 years ago.

Bacon, a World War II and Korean War veteran who resides at the Missouri Veterans Home here, joined members of the American Legion and VFW posts for a brief Pearl Harbor Day observance along the river in downtown Cape Girardeau.

On hand for the ceremony were Jerry Stauber, commander of the American Legion post, and Jerry Jenkins, commander of the VFW post.

Following a prayer and placing of the wreath in river, a hush fell over the small group at 10:55 a.m., the exact time of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack. The attack was devastating: It claimed the lives of 2,403 Americans, sank or severely damaged 21 ships in the U.S. Pacific fleet and destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft.

Bacon of Cape Girardeau and Herman E. Payne of Advance remember the date well. Bacon was a survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Payne was a survivor of Wake Island, which was bombed by the Japanese some two hours after Pearl Harbor. Like Pearl Harbor, attackers at Wake Island enjoyed nearly complete surprise.

Bacon, a 1938 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, volunteered for the peacetime Navy after graduation. He was placed on a waiting list and had to wait until Aug. 12, 1938, before he was selected to enlist. Three years later he went to Pearl Harbor Naval Base.

He was serving as a machinist mate second class on Dec. 7, 1941, a day that Bacon remembers well. "I was 22 years old then and was stationed aboard the Utah," he said Tuesday.

It was early on a Sunday morning, and Bacon was on watch in the water-distilling plant two decks down.

"Something slammed into the port side of the battleship," said Bacon. "I thought it was a U.S. navy patrol bomber that had hit the ship," which was often used for practice bombing runs. The ship's guns had been removed and the deck was covered with large, wooden chunks to protect it from the small practice bombs that were regularly dropped on it.

When the two torpedoes hit the ship it tore giant holes in the fuel tanks and sent torrents of sea water inside.

Bacon, who said he was only a dozen feet away from the churning water, climbed toward the top as the vessel started to list.

"By the time I reached topside, the ship was listing so badly that I slid down the side of the ship into the water," he said.

Fifty-eight of the Utah crewmen died in the attack on the Utah, including another Cape Girardeau sailor, Dale Clippard. "I didn't know he was aboard the Utah until my mother sent me a clipping from the newspaper," said Bacon.

Bacon swam from the ship to shore, where he found refuge in a ditch along with some other sailors.

"At first I didn't realize what was happening," said Bacon. "Then I observed two planes bearing Japanese insignias. It was then that Bacon knew what was happening.

"This is war," he said.

Bacon remained in the Navy until Oct. 1, 1945. Bacon, who remained in the Naval Reserve at Cape Girardeau, had one more tour of active service. He was recalled to duty in August 1950 during the Korean War. He served as a machinist mate on a destroyer in the Atlanta Fleet before being released in December 1951.

Bacon worked at the Southeast Missouri State University power plant for 32 years before retiring.

Payne went to Wake Island as a civilian construction worker.

"I was in what they called Civilian Camp on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese planes started bombing the nearby airfield," said Payne. "It was about 11:50 a.m. when they started bombing the fuel tanks and airfield, destroying most of the planes there."

Following the attack on Wake Island, Payne, a native of Wane County, joined the Navy. For Payne the worst was yet to come.

"They bombed and strafed us for a couple of days," said Payne. The Japanese returned to Wake on two more occasions, capturing the island on Dec. 23, 1941.

"We were taken prisoners," said Payne. "We were taken to Shanghai and later placed in smaller prisoner-of-war camps in Japan, where we were made to work in shipyards and later at a steel mill."

"We never had a fire in camps during our stay," said Payne. "During extreme cold weather, we bundled up and slept in groups to prevent freezing."

Payne was released from prison camp in 1945.

"Life in the prison camp was tough," said Payne. "They fed us just enough to keep us able to work. I came out 50 pounds lighter."

Payne worked in a steel mill in Illinois for a while after being discharged from service and later moved back to Southeast Missouri. He worked in an assessor's office for 20 years and served in the ministry 30 years.