George DeLong was born on June 26th, 1922. Growing up, he often sold groceries, such as homemade root beer and raisin pies, door to door to help make ends meet after his father died when George was a little boy. When World War II began, George realized he wanted to serve his country. Working in a hosiery mill making women’s stockings, he found his calling when he found a poster at a local post office with an Uncle Sam figure saying, “Join the Navy and see the World.” George was interested, but wanted approval from his mother beforehand, as he was concerned that their living situation would put a damper on his plans. Surprisingly enough, she approved. At age 18, he signed up for the US Navy.

When considering jobs in the navy, George eventually was transferred to become a quartermaster. This led him to the USS Oklahoma, which in his minds was the “Queen of the Sea,” her accelerated age notwithstanding! He deeply enjoyed sailor life.

On December 7th, 1941, at age 19, George’s life changed forever. The evening was fairly mundane. He went out for a movie at a local Japanese movie theater, before going back to the docks to sleep. The next morning, water started coming through the ship. George heard a boatswain’s mate scream, “All hands man your battle stations! Set Condition Zed through the Ship!” All the doors had to be locked down. Not all the sailors followed the command. It was a weekend morning, and many were exhausted from the previous week. As the water kept rising, it became quite clear quick action had to be undertaken as soon as possible.

Eventually, the USS Oklahoma was hit forward on the port side below its effective armor by a series of Japanese torpedoes containing 452 pounds of explosives. Many sailors were killed. Torpedoes kept hitting the side of the boat, causing more and more water to keep pouring into the ship, making any effort from the crew to counter-flood moot. The hits were so distant that  the sailors didn’t understand what was going on, though it did cause quite a commotion inside the docks when the rambling caused the inside machinery to go flying! George tried to avoid the bombing by climbing up on the dock and holding onto the stanchion. A few sailors, including George, were lucky enough to be pulled to safety, but many did not survive. Among the survivors, nobody was seriously hurt, and only one, Richard Artley, was injured by the flying debris.

Throughout the rest of his life, George DeLong was happy to share his story of Pearl Harbor with many historical sources, from an illustrated book about Pearl Harbor by Dan Van Der Vat to The National Museum of the Pacific War and, of course, the VA Department. When asked about how he felt regarding the Japanese troops he fought, George responded, “I don’t feel any ill will towards them. They were just doing their job.” Of course, he also expressed gratitude to everyone who “participated in the rescue,” and if asked how he felt normally, he’d just say he was “great and getting better.”
Written by Jennifer Rose, George’s Granddaughter