The best-ranking Filipino American was within the Military, not the Navy

The attack on Pearl Harbor that catapulted the US into World War II occurred 77 years ago on December 7, 2018.

The Japanese attack on the US naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii killed more than 2,400 American sailors and civilians and wounded another 1,000.

Japanese fighter jets also destroyed or damaged nearly 20 navy ships during the attack.

But the US sailors and civilians did not stand by without a fight.

Here are 7 Pearl Harbor heroes you’ve never heard of.

Phil Rasmussen during flight school.

1. Phil Rasmussen, who raced into his plane to attack Japanese Zero fighters.

Lt. Phil Rasmussen was one of four American pilots who were able to take to the air and attack Japanese fighters during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

When the attack started, Rasmussen was still in his pajamas when he ran to the airline and jumped into a then-old Curtiss P-36A Hawk fighter plane – the only US planes the Japanese had not yet knocked out.

In the air, Rasmussen shot down a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter plane and damaged another before being attacked by two others.

The two Japanese fighters shot up his plane and took out his radio, hydraulic lines and oar cables, but he was able to fly away and hide in the clouds before landing without brakes, oars or tailwheels.

Rasmussen received the Silver Star for his actions and retired from the Air Force in 1965.

Sources: US Air Force, We Are The Mighty

Doris Müller.

(U.S. Navy photo)

2. Doris Miller, who fired a machine gun at attacking fighters.

Cook Third Class Doris Miller was stationed on the battleship USS West Virginia when the Japanese attacked.

Awake at 6 a.m., Miller was collecting laundry when the attack started. He went to his battle station, an anti-aircraft battery magazine in the middle of the ship, only to find that it had been destroyed by a torpedo.

Miller then went on deck to carry away wounded sailors before being ordered to the bridge to aid the fatally wounded Mervyn Sharp Bennion (who later received the Medal of Honor).

After helping deliver ammunition to two .50-caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun crews, and without any weapons training, he manned one of the cannons himself and fired until the ammunition was used up.

“It wasn’t difficult,” Miller said later.

“I just pulled the trigger and it worked fine. I had watched the others with these weapons. I guess I fired her for about fifteen minutes. I think I have one of those Japanese planes. They dived pretty close to us. “

For his actions, he received the Navy Cross, the first time an African American was awarded.

Miller was killed in 1943 while serving on the escort carrier USS Liscome Bay, which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo.

Source: US Navy

First Lieutenant Annie G. Fox.

(Photo from the National Archives)

3. Annie G. Fox, who worked tirelessly tending to the wounded.

First Lieutenant Annie G. Fox was the head nurse at the hospital at Hickham Field, Hawaii’s main army airfield and bomber base, when the attack on Pearl Harbor began.

Fox “gave patients anesthesia during the heaviest part of the bombardment, helped dress the wounded, taught civilian volunteer nurses how to make bandages, and worked incessantly with coolness and efficiency on the morale of everyone she came in contact with,” said Fox her Purple Heart Medal.

Fox was the first US soldier to receive the Purple Heart, which she received for her actions during the attack.

At that time, the US military awarded Purple Hearts for “a uniquely meritorious act of exceptional loyalty or essential service.” When the requirement to be wounded was added, her Purple Heart was replaced with the Bronze Star as she was not wounded.

Fox was promoted to the rank of major before retiring from the service in 1945.

The USS Pennsylvania is still in dry dock after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

(U.S. Navy photo)

4. George Walters, a crane operator who warned sailors of the attack.

George Walters was a civilian who operated a giant crane alongside the battleship USS Pennsylvania in Pearl Harbor.

He was 15 meters up in the crane when the attack started and was one of the first Americans to see the Japanese planes approaching and alert the sailors aboard the Pennsylvania.

Walters then swung the crane back and forth repeatedly to protect the ship from Japanese fighter jets as U.S. sailors aboard the Pennsylvania attempted to return fire.

But the sailors who manned the battleship’s guns had difficulty seeing the Japanese planes because they were in dry dock.

“The water had been pumped out and their decks had fallen so low that the high sides of the dry dock blocked most of the view,” wrote author Walter Lord in his book “Day of Infamy”.

So Walters used the crane’s boom to indicate incoming Japanese planes.

“After a 500 pound bomb exploded nearby, damaging the crane and stunned Walters, he almost fell off the crane. But Walters had moved the crane just in time to avoid a direct hit from the bomb, which left a five meter high crater, ”according to the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

Walters has since been credited by many for helping save the ship. He operated cranes until 1950 and retired in 1966.

Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin, History.com

Cmdr. Cassin Young, who saved his ship from the attack.

(U.S. Navy photo)

5. Cassin Young

Cmdr. Cassin Young commanded the repair ship USS Vestal during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Young was in his cabin in the Vestal when the attack started. He ran on deck, where he organized sailors to fire the ships’ three-inch guns at the overheard Japanese planes.

But Young was blown overboard along with 100 other sailors when the front magazine of the famous battleship USS Arizona, which was next to the Vestal, struck and exploded.

The Vestal Virgin’s deputy commanding officer ordered the remaining sailors to disembark, but Young swam through the oil-stained water and climbed back on board.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Young yelled at the sailors who were leaving the ship and called to them to go to their stations and get the ship going.

The Vestil eventually made it into open waters. Damaged and in flames, it ran aground.

Young later received the Medal of Honor for his services and was promoted to captain of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco. He was killed aboard the San Francisco during the Guadalcanal campaign.

Source: US Navy, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Chief Boatswain Edwin Joseph Hill, who rescued shipmates from Japanese hunters.

(U.S. Navy photo)

6. Edwin Hill

Chief Boatswain Edwin Joseph Hill was stationed on the battleship USS Nevada when the attack on Pearl Harbor began.

When Japanese planes shot at the ship from above, Hill jumped into the waters of the port and climbed ashore to free the Nevada from its anchorage. Then he jumped in again and swam toward the Nevada, which was moving out onto open water, and climbed back aboard the battleship.

But with the Nevada alone in the water, the ship was an obvious target and would have blocked the port if it had been destroyed.

While Japanese fighters attacked Nevada, Hill instructed other sailors to take cover behind the gun turrets. Many of the sailors later credited him with saving their lives.

When Hill attempted to drop anchor during the second wave of attacks, a Japanese bomb hit the bow and he was killed.

Hill was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Source: Pearl Harbor Visitors ‘Office, Pearl Harbor Visitors’ Office

Ensign Herbert C. Jones, who passed ammunition to gun crews when he was seriously injured.

(U.S. Navy photo)

7. Ensign Herbert C. Jones

Ensign Herbert C. Jones was stationed aboard the battleship USS California during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Jones had just assumed the position of junior deck officer when the attack began.

After a torpedo damaged the mechanical jack that had loaded the ship’s anti-aircraft guns, Jones led a group of sailors to hand-deliver the ammunition.

Jones was in a compartment on the third deck, handing ammunition down a ladder to the gun battery, when a bomb hit the second deck, seriously injuring him.

The Nevada took in water and threatened to catch fire from burning oil in the water when an abandoned ship’s order was given.

Two sailors carried Jones out of the compartment that caught fire but eventually got stuck.

“Leave me alone! I’m done with. Get out of here before the magazines go out,” Jones said.

Marine Corps Pvt. Howard Haynes, imprisoned at the time of the attack, later credited Jones with saving his life.

“God, give me a chance to prove I’m worth it,” said Haynes.

Jones was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.

Source: Department of Defense, “Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Savage and Final Appraisal”

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