Introduction to Tempestuous

Tempestuous

A novel by G.W. Whittington

We all remember the famous words of Franklin Roosevelt; “Yesterday, December 7^th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy.” Part of my stories topic involves a dedication, or a walk down histories street if you will, to a piece of history that often gets left out. 429 Marines and sailors died, either the day of the attack, or in the weeks to follow aboard the Battleship Oklahoma. The men trapped below the decks of the capsized battleship would drowned, burn, suffocate and fade away into history never to mentioned. There is a strange attitude among people these days who do study history and especially this time period that when anything is mentioned about the Oklahoma, they act almost like it is acceptable to belittle the admiration, and memories of one of America's greatest fighting vessels; I have read articles in which people have actually stated things like, “It's Oklahoma, who cares.” or “Nobody really wants to know about a ship that did nothing but capsize?” Most documentaries you see briefly mention, if at, that the Oklahoma capsized, and nothing more.

The story of Oklahoma is not just one of a ship, when you look at the bigger picture, it's about the flesh and blood men who lived on her, and chose to serve their country, as they saw it “With her.” The relationship between ship and man is a sentimental one that is scarcely understood, these vessels were not simply a tool used to further the cause of war, or defend a nation, but they were a home, an extension of the beloved land we call America.

These ships have had a place in my heart for a very long time, I can remember being at the dinner table at thanksgiving and Christmas, listening to the stories being told about the families history. It began when Dad told me about Grover Middleton (My Great Grandfather) who was aboard a “Tin can” during WWI, Tin can being the name sailors gave to the small, fast, and thinly armored Destroyer. I sat listening in awe as I listened to the story of how my Great grandfather's destroyer was sunk by a German U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico, and how that after a short time on a raft, and a hospital stay, Grandpa Middleton was assigned as Machinist Mate aboard a newer Battleship, The USS Texas BB-35.

The old girl still had her caged crows nest, but what a sight! I was in love, and Battleships became an obsession that I just couldn't get enough of. It wasn't until 1993 though that I realized ( after much research ) that it wasn't just about the steel that made up the structure of these mighty vessels, but there was a moral behind them.

In 1920 when a Dreadnought sailed into the harbor of a friendly country She was an ambassador of goodwill showing all the honor, and reverence of a proud nation, but when she set sail to a hostile, or potentially hostile place in the world these mighty maidens of Iron were a messenger that told our enemies to “Behave, or suffer the wrath that was to come.” It was the men who would live beneath her decks that would make the dreadnought a success, their sweat, blood, and sacrifice.

Dreadnought is from two words that mean “fear not” rather Biblical if you think about it! How many times can we read in the Word of God, when the preacher has said Fear not, or the Angel of the Lord said Fear not, or even the Lord Himself has reassured us by telling us to “Fear not.” If you can take the time to read the stories of the men who would fight and die, and survive during the attack on Pearl Harbor you will see that Dreadnought kind of spirit in all of their attitudes, they were not the type to set down and cry because something bad happened , they got up and fought, and that is something we need more of in this generation.

At 6am on August 7^th of 1942 The Navy's USS Quincy began the show when she started to bombard the enemy positions on Guadalcanal, and at around 9 am 6,000 Marines of the 1^st and 3^rd battalions, 5^th Marines, 1^st Marine division landed on the white sandy beaches of what would be known to some as Starvation Island, and to others as Hell's Island; either way none of the men who landed that morning knew exactly what to expect, though their superiors told them they would face almost 100% casualties! One of those men was named Lonnie William Whittington, my Grandfather. While everyone has inevitably heard of WWII many don't stop to think of what we gained, or even what we could have lost had it not been for the sacrifice of the men who fought, and I hope that you will see just a piece of what they went through by reading my book.

Back to the Oklahoma, and the story you are about to read. Some of this story is true, taken from interviews and accounts by people who were there, and parts of this story may just be what I chose to think, or dream.

In 1943 the Battleship Oklahoma had been righted and the process to strip her superstructure and patch her damaged hull had begun. They would leave the four turrets and remove the gun barrels, and the entire superstructure, which had been destroyed when the ship came to rest upside down in the mud of Pearl Harbor was stripped away. In 1944 the ship would be decommissioned and in 1946 the deal had already been struck to sell the old Battle-wagon to a scrapyard in San Francisco. She had set in her moorings there at Ford Island for those few years uncertain what her Fate would be, and in 1947 tugs pushed her out of her birthing towards the Seattle Based tugs that would tow her to San Francisco! The owners of the scrapyard, and the Navy planned on a big farewell, But Oklahoma had reservations at a table called fate, and she would never arrive at the breakers yard. This ghost of a mighty fighting ship chose instead to rest in a far more appropriate place.