Oklahoma Pearl Harbor survivors remember attack

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- It was 64 years ago Wednesday that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War Two.<br/><br/>In Oklahoma there are 52 known survivors of the attack,

Wednesday, December 7th 2005, 8:55 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- It was 64 years ago Wednesday that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War Two.

In Oklahoma there are 52 known survivors of the attack, including 83-year-old Roland Nee of Rush Springs.

Nee was an 18-year-old artilleryman preparing to eat breakfast when the attack began and as he ran to his post he slipped and fell as a Japanese plane strafed the area. Nee says the bullets missed him and killed a soldier behind him.

Quartermaster striker Arles Cole of Porum was relaxing on board the USS West Virginia when the attack began and noticed that the American flag had not yet been raised on board the ship. So Cole grabbed the biggest US flag he could find, shimmied to the end of the flag pole and tied off the flag.

When the attack ended after two hours there were 21 US ships sunk or damaged and about 2,400 Americans were dead.