Personal Narrative Essay: The Captain Of USS Arizona

If you have not already heard the Japanese have attacked my base here at Pearl Harbor. I am captain of USS Arizona and I have failed them. Hundreds of my friends and fellow marines have died yesterday on that ship, and I wish that I could see them once again. I know that I will never be able to see their faces again because my ship is now sitting at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. It was just a normal Sunday morning on December seventh, and I woke at at seven o’clock in the morning because I had to be on the ship at eight to decide our route in the Pacific. Therefore I got up and took a shower, brushed my teeth, and got dressed. I got ready faster than normal so I decided that I wanted to be early. When I left the house it was seven thirty five and I was only ten minutes away from the USS Arizona. I got half way when I realized that I forgot my hat back at home. So I turned around and headed back to my cabinet. When I arrived back I could not find my hat anywhere. I looked top to bottom until I finally found it under a pile of clothes. I looked at the clock and it read seven fifty. I knew I would now arrive right on time so I started my journey to the ship. When I was walking I heard a faint sound of a plane. My first thought was, our pilots do …show more content…
I looked down at my left arm to only see half it there wrapped in a big white bandage. Without even realizing it I started to cry. Not knowing why this had to happen. Wondering to myself why me, why today. Minutes later the captain of the USS Pennsylvania H. B. Wilson approached me. He told me that 1,177 of my men died yesterday and that the USS Arizona got hit four different times by Japanese bombers. My heart was broken, but that could have been me. If I had not forgot my hat I would have been on that ship and would be one of those men at the bottom in the ship right now. I am grateful that I am still alive even if it is with one and a half arms