Trapped at Pearl Harbor: Escape from Battleship Oklahoma

by Stephen Bower Young

Also Available in an Audio Edition from Audible via Amazon
Author Stephen Young was a seaman first class assigned to gunnery duty in turret no. 4 on the Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Struck by a bomb, the battleship started to sink, and Young and others became trapped when it overturned. Young describes their terrifying experience with stunning clarity. He recounts the violence of the capsizing, which killed or injured many of the men, and the survivors' frantic search for an escape route. He remembers their horror at finding all the exits blocked and their despair over the possibility of never being rescued.
This account of their experience is undeniably one of the most dramatic stories to unfold during the air raid. With incredible realism, Young describes the water's inexorable rise, inch by awful inch; the sickening taste of fuel oil; the foul smell of the air; the nervous wisecracks echoing through the cold darkness; and finally the silence. The intensity and suspense rival that of any fictional thriller--the recounting of his escape is particularly spellbinding. To place his experiences in a broader context, Young also provides little-known tales of tragedy and bravery that occurred elsewhere on that Day of Infamy. First published in hardcover in 1991 to wide acclaim, this memorable story remains popular today.

Genres: History, World War II, Naval History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enlightening and gripping account of the Pearl Harbor bombing and reveals touching stories of the brave rescues of the sailors. The author, one of those sailors rescued from the "Oklahoma," spent years interviewing those who were there to provide this wonderfully detailed history. Also included are black and white photos of the sailors, diagrams of the "Oklahoma" and a list of all those who served on the ship. I was thrilled to find this gem of a book that filled in those missing details left out of other books that I have read about Pearl Harbor. Highly recommend!

[G. Kieth McLain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the first-person account written in a very descriptive manner. The pictures and information in the appendix was extremely good. I recommend this book to any WW2 reader.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this account of the author's twenty seven hours trapped in the capsized hulk of the Oklahoma quite hard to put down, even though I knew the author made it out.
It's generally limited to the author's direct experiences and those of a few other crew mates with him in the struggle to survive in gun turret four. So it does not provide much broader context about the events of December 7 and 8 1941, although although author Young rather skillfully blends in some vignettes of prewar naval life. But as Young declares, for many the first day of the war was reduced to a matter of the square yard or so of water and burning oil in which a stunned sailor found himself immersed.

[Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First hand account of the harrowing end of USS Oklahoma that capsized during the Pearl Harbor attack. Unfortunately the writing style is so wooden that it makes what should be a fast-paced tale into a dull read. The appendix at the back has nice diagrams and deck plans of the old warhorse.

[Nancy Loe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time we go to Hawaii, we go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. The Visitor Center there has an excellent bookstore and this is one of my finds there.