Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
2:24 | Frank Connolly recalls one memorable crash aboard the USS Essex while supporting airstrikes in the Pacific.
As part of the crew of the USS St. Louis, Frank Connolly describes in detail his experiences leading up to and during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941. He recalls seeing the planes coming in and not thinking anything of it until they started to dive and drop torpedoes.
After the attack at Pearl Harbor, Frank Connolly recalls being tasked with clearing dead bodies out of the water.
Shortly after the attack at Pearl Harbor, Frank Connolly remembers the series of bombardment missions his ship took part in, including the Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan coast.
Aboard the USS Essex near the Marianas, Frank Connolly describes a very close call with a Japanese bomb.
After being stationed in Hawaii, Frank Connolly recalls shipping out to Okinawa just in time for his minesweeper ship to come face to face with a typhoon.
After the war's end, Frank Connolly remembers going overboard while his ship was on a de-mining mission in the Sea of Japan.
Frank Connolly recalls one memorable crash aboard the USS Essex while supporting airstrikes in the Pacific.
