Street Talk: Pearl Harbor survivor recalls that fateful day

He was only 18 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He is Fred Durboraw, and he was there.

"I was on the light cruiser ship the USS Phoenix on the starboard quarter deck waiting for muster at 8 a.m. when the attack came," said Fred. "I was a seaman second class and hadn't been in the Navy that long. The attack was unexpected but not a total surprise. We all knew we were about to enter World War II but not how. Now we know that Pearl Harbor was the trigger that got us in."

Fred, who is 77, joined the U.S. Navy in October of 1940. He served 30 years in the Navy and Navy Reserves and lives in Minden with his wife of 54 years, Dell.

Fred was born in Las Animas, Colo.

"It was a military and cattle town," said Fred. "Kit Carson died there at Ft. Lyons, which is seven miles east of Las Animas.

"My dad (John) was career Navy," continued Fred. "He was in the Spanish/American war, the Mexican war and WWI and WWII. He died from health problems at age 81. My mom Elicta also died from health problems at age 73."

Fred has one older brother, John, who is 84 and lives in Fort Collins, Colo. His sister Mary passed away from heart problems when she was 54 years old.

"Dell was born in Los Angeles and both of her parents are gone too," said Fred. "She is the youngest of eight children. Only her sister Margaret, who is 79 and lives in Sacramento, and her brother Xavier, who is 92 and lives in L.A., are still alive."

In 1951, Fred "got done" with his active duty, joined the reserves and went to work in Los Angeles.

"I worked for Pacific Bell Phone Company, and I retired as their construction manager in 1982," he recalled with a smile. "Dell, who will be 76 on Christmas Eve, and I met on Christmas Eve of 1946. We married in April of 1947 in Las Vegas. We have two sons. John is 52 and lives in Columbia, Missouri. David is 49 and lives in Sherman Oaks, California. Dell and I have seven grandchildren and one great-grandson."

Fred and Dell moved to Minden in 1986 from California.

"I used to go hunting at Jarbridge, and Dell and I liked this area so we bought our home here and have lived in Minden ever since," said Fred happily. "We made a good choice."

Dell is a "very active" member of the Trinity Lutheran Church and she "sings with the choir" at the church.

"I belong to the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Association, Chapter One," said Fred. "There are about 55 of us left. I'm also a member of the Navy League of the U.S. Navy, Carson Valley Chapter, and we have roughly 100 members. ... I'm on the board of directors and I'm an active supporter and member."

PEARL HARBOR MEMORIES - Fred admits he and his ship "got lucky" during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"We were never hit during the battle," he said. "We joined all the other ships that got out of Pearl Harbor, and later we escorted ships full of women and children back to San Francisco. Then we went to Australia and then the Indian Ocean. We were very lucky. We were in 13 major engagements during WWII but our ship was never hit, and we never lost a sailor .... We were blessed."

Fred said his "last action" in WWII came in Toyko when they evacuated Allied prisoners from POW camps.

"That made us all feel good," he smiled. "One of the few nice memories I have of that war."

As you all know, Thursday is "Pearl Harbor Day," and I asked Fred about that day and his plans for it.

"It's a sad day of remembrance for me," he replied. "Our group usually has a breakfast or lunch that day. ... December 7, 1941, is a day I'll never forget. A lot of good men gave their lives for this country and the freedom we share today.

"I hope everyone remembers that!"

They do, Fred .... And we always will.

Thank you and all those who served and saved our way of life and our country.

You will never be forgotten.

SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER - On that day that will "live in infamy" the Japanese task force that attacked Pearl Harbor consisted of nine destroyers, six aircraft carriers, two heavy and one light cruiser and two battleships plus three submarines and eight tankers.

They had 432 aircraft of which 353 were used in the first and second wave attacks. The first wave attacked at the 0755 hour that Sunday morning. The second wave at 0845 and at 0945 the attackers broke off and returned to their ships. The Japanese lost 29 planes, one large submarine, five midget submarines and 55 airmen plus an unknown number on those submarines.

The U.S. forces suffered severe damage and loss of life. The total deaths for the Army, Navy, Marines and civilians was 2,403. Wounded were 1,178 and we had damage inflicted to nine battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, one mine layer, one seaplane tender and one repair ship. The Army had 96 airplanes destroyed and 128 damaged and the Navy lost 92 planes and had 31 damaged.

Battleships lost or sunk were the Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah, California and West Virginia. The Nevada was beached and the Maryland, Pennsylvania and Tennessee were heavily damaged.

So to Fred and all you other survivors of that attack and that war, I will repeat: You will never be forgotten!

Never ...

AN OLD MARINE - That's who you'll see tonight on our Street Talk TV Show. We'll visit with Mills Lane, who started his boxing career in the U.S.M.C. We'll talk with Judge Lane about being a judge, his boxing career - including his career as a professional - plus we'll visit with his wife, kids, dog and lots more during the one hour show that airs on Carson Access Television channel 10 tonight at 6 p.m. The show repeats Monday at 8 a.m.

ALAN ROGERS is a Nevada Appeal columnist. Call him at 887-2430, ext. 402.