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Sailor remembers Pearl Harbor attack

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - The morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Yeoman 2nd Class Durrell Conner was wrapping Christmas presents aboard the USS California when he heard a commotion. Peering through a porthole of the battleship, the 23-year-old saw an airplane approaching low.

"He dropped something, and as he banked away, I saw the red emblem of the Japanese on his wings so I knew we were under attack," Conner said. "He dropped the torpedo that struck the ship right below where I was standing."

The battleship shook like an earthquake, and the cryptographer rushed to his battle station where he coded and decoded messages for the California's commander. Since no messages were coming in, he joined a chain passing ammunition to Marines and sailors firing guns on the deck.

Another Japanese plane dropped a 500-pound bomb on the California, sinking the ship. The vessel lost nearly 100 of its 1,800 officers and crew.

Conner plans to return to Pearl Harbor today along with a

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