Descent into Darkness: Pearl Harbor, 1941 - A Navy Diver's Memoir

222 Pages·2012·2.4 MB·English

by  Cdr. Edward C. Raymer USN (Ret.)

Descent into Darkness
The author in late 1944 at the experimental diving unit, Washington, D. C.

Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 1996 by Edward C. Raymer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First Naval Institute Press paperback edition published 2012.
ISBN 978-1-61251-102-3
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Raymer, Edward C.
Descent into darkness : Pearl Harbor, 1941: a Navy diver’s memoir / Edward C. Raymer.
p. cm
1. Raymer, Edward C. 2. Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941—Personal narratives, American. 3. United
States. Navy—Biography.
4. Sailors—United States—Biography. 5. Divers—United States—Biography. I. Title.
D767.92.R37 1996
940.54’26—dc20
[B]96-33674
CIP
Photos from author’s collection unless otherwise noted.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 129 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First printing
To Marilyn:
A woman of lasting beauty, a confidant and supporter,
a wise counselor and critic, a loving mother,
a perfect wife
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Prologue
I. San Diego, California
II. USS Nevada
III. USS Utah
IV. USS Arizona
V. USS California
VI. USS West Virginia
VII. USS Oklahoma
VIII. South Pacific Theater of War
IX. Return to the Oklahoma
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Looking back over the last five years, I realize that the writing of this book was a
collective effort.
Grateful acknowledgment is tendered to historian Eric M. Hammel for
“strongly encouraging” me to pursue this book; to author Hank Searls for his
many helpful suggestions to improve my writing skills; to Sara Trotta for her
encouragement and help in editing; to my sons: Christopher for his many
valuable suggestions; to Marshall and Terry for pushing me to finishing my
memoir; and last but not least, to my wife for her understanding and
encouragement during the dark days when I wanted to chuck it all.
Without all these people this book probably would never have been written.
Preface
Descent into Darkness is a salvage diver’s memoir of the raising of the sunken
battleships after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The book is also a history of
the salvage work performed by the USS Seminole in the South Pacific theater of
war.
Navy divers and Pacific Bridge civilian divers formed one leg of a salvage
triad, salvage engineers and the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard comprised the
other two. One leg needed the assistance and support of the other two to be
effective.
Once divers entered the interiors of sunken battleships, they experienced a
world of total blackness, unable to see the faceplates in their helmets, a scant two
inches from their noses. The abundance of sediment, oil, and other pollutants
inside the ships rendered diving lamps useless, since the beams of light reflected
into the divers’ eyes, blinding them.
Navy divers using only a sense of feel groped their way hundreds of feet
inside the ships to their work assignments. They developed a superior sense of
touch, much as blind persons do. They also experienced an eerie phenomenon in
the underwater wrecks. They could sense the presence of floating human bodies
long before they felt them.
Divers also learned to cope with unseen dangers in the blackness, such as
falling machinery, sharp, torn metal, jagged holes in the deck, and other hazards.
Upon reaching their underwater work sites they used all types of tools to
perform a multitude of tasks.
Because of the nature of these underwater conditions, the divers worked by
themselves, unattended and unsupervised. Much of their work went
unappreciated until months later when the ships were dry-docked, and their
efforts could be seen in the light of day.
By reading this book you will see what it was like exploring and working
inside the USS Arizona and the other sunken ships. You will learn how repairs
were made to the ships and how these versatile divers modified and adapted