USS West Virginia Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Life Preserver From USS West Virginia Donated To WVU

Each Dec. 7, communities across the country commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor. This year, the ceremony at West Virginia University will integrate a new piece of history.

A life preserver from aboard the USS West Virginia, which was sunk during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, was recently donated to West Virginia University by the Kendrick family.

Lori Hostuttler, director of the West Virginia and Regional History Center at WVU libraries said the life preserver is a powerful symbol.

“When I first saw it, my first thought was, ‘Did somebody cling to this? Did it save somebody’s life during that attack?’” she said. “It’s a very somber artifact, but it also can symbolize resilience of Americans and West Virginians.”

Hostuttler said the piece was first pulled from the waters of the harbor by Charles House Morgan, Jr. who was serving at Pearl Harbor with his father, Charles House Morgan, Sr. She said Jr. saw the life preserver as an item “to commemorate those who were killed in that attack that day and as a remembrance of the horrible tragedy that he had witnessed.”

“I think it’s emblematic of West Virginians’ service to the military,” Hostuttler said. “West Virginians have always come to the aid of the United States and served when there was a conflict.”

The USS West Virginia was restored and returned to service after the attack. Its mast and bell are now permanently installed outside of Oglebay Hall on WVU’s Morgantown campus.

“It was a student-led effort to bring that to the campus in the early 1960s,” Hostuttler said.

The university’s annual remembrance ceremony will be held by the mast Thursday morning, and the life preserver will be on display in the downtown library.

“We definitely like to honor our service members, and anything that can allow the military or service members to be in the spotlight at WVU, we love to have that happen,” said Penny Lipscomb, interim director of the Center for Veteran, Military and Family Programs.

The ceremony will include members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Foreign Legion, Earl Anderson Marine Corps league detachment as well as ROTC cadets and guest speaker Secretary of State Mac Warner. The Daughters of the American Revolution also lay a wreath in memory of the fallen soldiers.

“We gather for this tradition, it’s been happening since the 1970s, where we go out and we stand in front of the mast to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to our country,” Lipscomb said.

December 7, 1941: Japan Launches a Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor, Sinks USS West Virginia

In the early morning hours of December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The raid killed more than 2,400 Americans and prompted the United States to enter World War II. Torpedoes and bombs sank four U.S. battleships, including the USS West Virginia, which lost two officers and 103 crew members.

The battleship, which had originally joined the naval fleet in 1923, was a great source of pride for West Virginians. She was raised from the mud of Pearl Harbor and rebuilt in time to serve during the last year of the war. The ship went back to sea in July 1944 and participated in the invasion of the Philippines. At Surigao Strait—the largest naval battle of the war—the West Virginia led the line and was the first American ship to open fire. In September 1945, the West Virginia was in Tokyo Bay for Japan’s official surrender, the only Pearl Harbor survivor present.

World War II marked the end of the battleship era. The West Virginia was decommissioned in 1947 and sold for scrap in 1959.

Morgantown High School Band Will Represent W.Va. at Pearl Harbor Commemoration

Dec. 7, 2016 will mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which thrust America into World War II. Morgantown High School’s marching band has been selected to represent West Virginia during a commemoration next year in Hawaii to honor that milestone.

One of the few remaining survivors of the attack came to the Mountain State from Texas to share his first-hand account of that fateful day with the band members and take part in Veterans Day ceremonies.

Seaman 1st Class Richard Cunningham, 94, was invited to speak at Morgantown High School’s auditorium because he’s one of the last witnesses to one of the most infamous days in American history.

He was serving aboard the USS West Virginia on Dec. 7, 1941, as the battleship was docked in Pearl Harbor. Early that morning, he and two other sailors were assigned to pick up some officers from shore in a small, wooden motorboat. They were halfway through their 10-minute journey when they heard an enormous explosion.

“The three of us looked back and we saw this Japanese plane coming down and peeling off and coming in,” Cunningham said. “We looked and saw the two rising suns and the big loud bomb and I thought, ‘Boy, this is it. This is war.’ ”

Cunningham told the rapt audience about how he and his shipmates dodged enemy fire in that flimsy boat to rescue sailors from the burning water of the harbor. He told them how the explosion from a damaged Japanese plane was so close that it singed the hair on his arms. And he told them how he and others fought the flames from the burning American naval fleet for days after the attack.

Seaman 1st Class Richard Cunningham speaks with students following a talk he gave at the Morgantown High School auditorium on Monday, Nov. 9.

But his message in the end was simple.

“Be prepared,” Cunningham said. “The nation can get lackadaisical in their attitude toward living, you know. And you get so involved with the things that you have to do that you forget about that the freedom isn’t free.”

Learning About History

Cunningham participated in many of the Veterans Day ceremonies in and around Morgantown during the week of Nov. 8. But he also spent time at Morgantown High School talking to students about the battleship he served on, the USS West Virginia, and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

It especially meant a lot to the MHS marching band. They’ve been chosen to represent the Mountain State in Hawaii next year during the 75th anniversary commemoration of the attack.

Band director Keith Reed said that to prepare for the trip, the students are learning a lot about the USS West Virginia and the sailors who died during the battle. He said having Cunningham meet the students in person drove those lessons home.

“The kids really liked him,” Reed said. “They listened, they were quiet today — I mean the whole student body, not just the band kids — and I think it will really bring it more alive to them and make it significant when we get to go over there.”

It’s a Long Way To Hawaii

Reed said the school plans to send about 250 band members to Pearl Harbor next year. Freshman trumpet player Arden Minor will be one of them.

“I know we’re good, but I don’t think we’re the best in the state,” she said. “But I do think we are very well qualified to represent the whole entire state of West Virginia and I am really excited about that.”

A small boat rescues a seaman from the 31,800 ton battleship USS West Virginia on Dec. 7, 1941.

Arden said she is looking forward to paying homage to all those who served aboard the USS West Virginia.

Reed said he hopes to lay some wreaths on the dock near where the battleship was moored when it was attacked. He also has a special song in mind.

“We really want to play ‘My Home Among the Hills.’ And I don’t say that to, you know, to invoke emotion, but it is to think that,” he said.

Reed said it’s going to take quite an effort to get the band and their instruments to Hawaii, but they’ve received a lot of community support for the trip.

W.Va. Roots

Cunningham said he was more than happy to come to Morgantown. He lives in Texas, but of both his parents were West Virginia natives. Cunningham said he’s thrilled that so many students from Morgantown High will get to experience Hawaii.

“I’d love to see ’em out there and bare-footed and walking up and down Waikiki beach in their bare feet,” he said. “It would just, that would just tickle me, really, it would make me happy.”

Cunningham wrapped up his visit as a Veterans Day parade guest of honor, riding in a silver convertible and leading the MHS Marching Band down High Street in Morgantown.