September 24, 2014 at 4:24 p.m.
Rhinelander veteran speaks about attack on Pearl Harbor
Rhinelander veteran speaks about attack on Pearl Harbor
They were there to see the 96-year-old man sitting in the front row, and most importantly, hear him speak.
Walter Wendt, a World War II veteran who lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor, and his Honor Flight back to Pearl, was the subject of one of Nicolet College's Learning in Retirement classes.
The documentary, aptly titled "Return to Pearl," which chronicled Wendt's trip back to Pearl Harbor more than 70 years after the fateful day when the Japanese attacked the U.S., served as an introduction to Wendt's story.
The crowd sat patiently and waited to hear it all straight from the elderly man's mouth.
He didn't disappoint.
When the film ended, Wendt was helped to the front of the group. At 96 years old, his recollection of the attack was extraordinary.
He was stationed on the USS Helena, and described the ship and its capabilites in great detail.
"It was a light cruiser, meaning it had six-inch guns as their main battery," he said. "A heavy cruiser had eight-inch guns. That's the only difference. In a close battle at night, the light cruisers like I was on, was especially lethal because the guns could fire every six seconds. With 15 guns, there was a steady rata-tat-tat when they have a clear target."
Unfortunately for the Helena, it was blind-sided.
"The first torpedo went behind our stern and missed it by 10 or 20 feet at the most," he said. "It went off the starboard side and the Juneau was over there. When the Juneau blew up, there were chunks from the ship falling all over us. It was blown into a million pieces."
He spoke about planes overhead and the incredible desire to fight back. Most colorfully though, he spoke about the Pacific Ocean and his extensive time waiting for help to arrive.
"The Helena was sunk at about 12:30 at night, and it was daylight when I was picked up," he said. "Just exactly how long I was in the water though, is kind of hard to say. Because of all the floating debris, you were in the water, but you weren't really in the water. There was a mast floating there. I met a guy and he said, 'Don't leave me because I can't swim anywhere near as good as you can.' We swam for awhile and finally the sun came up."
The rescue operation was under way, but that didn't mean retrieving the soldiers from the water would be a simple undertaking.
"A boat came fairly close to me and they sent a rope over," Wendt said. "It had a fuzzy end on it though and when they tried to pull me out of the water, I couldn't hold on because all the oil floating in the water had greased my hands. They sent it down again and I wrapped the rope around my wrist a few times and they finally pulled me up. It was a big relief to crawl on my hands and knees.
"All the soldiers were being pulled up from the water, but they were all slimy with oil," Wendt added. "The oil was more like tar in a way, but it was impossible to stand up on the deck because it was so slippery."
Wendt talked about his return trip to Pearl Harbor on the Old Glory Honor Flight. Tony VanKampen, an Honor Flight board member, said it was an incredible experience.
"Every time I see the video, it brings back a lot of emotions," he said. "It's probably the greatest trip I ever had. It's probably the greatest trip I will ever have. The only way to see Pearl Harbor in my eyes now is to see Pearl Harbor with a veteran who was there. To hear the stories about what really happened is incredible. With 18 Pearl Harbor survivors and (hearing) their stories was unbelievable. The stories they're telling are ones that we'll be able to pass on to others now. We can forget what happened there. We have to remember."
That was the consensus in the room. The questions kept coming from the crowd, each person eager to hear more about Wendt's experience at Pearl Harbor and throughout the rest of his tour. Bob Aho was in the crowd and said Wendt's story was something he won't soon forget.
"We see so many things that we don't know of," he said. "We get the chance to talk to people and hear stories that we never would have had the opportunity to hear otherwise, just like Walter. To see and hear the connection with that place and hear him talk about it is really incredible."
Judy Durkee Peter, a long-time friend of Wendt's, traveled with him on his Honor Flight to Pearl Harbor and assisted him with his talk on Monday. She'll continue to do so as long as people want to hear Wendt's story.
"It's about respect, honor, dignity and gratitude that our young men put their lives on the line and didn't hesitate to go to war," she said. "We live in this beautiful, beautiful country with all these freedoms and all these choices to make, and it's because of them. Yet our young people have no idea. They would be amazed what this generation of people did so they can have iPhones and iPads today. When children meet him, they learn what a real hero he is. But until they're exposed to that, they have no idea."
For Wendt, the cause is much more simple though. He sat in front of the crowd, a nonagenarian remembering a single day from long ago. Durkee Peter pulled out one of his few mementos from the day and Wendt ran his worn hands over it and smiled.
"This is a Navy life preserver," he said. "It has a little tube to blow it up, and another spot to let the air back out when you didn't need it anymore. This is the one I wore when the Helena sunk and it was my sole support until I got picked up. The Pacific Ocean looks kind of big when you're trying to swim like that. The preserver was all gooey from all the oil, but time has cleaned it up a little bit."
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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