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President of Pearl Harbor Survivor Association Addresses Audience at Casa de Oro Library

Stuart Hedley's personal experiences as a Seaman Apprentice during World War II made him a stronger man.

The of San Diego County Library hosted a special guest for an event in remembrance of Pearl Harbor veterans on Saturday, Dec 3. The speaker was Stuart Hedley, (a.k.a. Stu), who was stationed in Pearl Harbor at the time of Japan’s attack that fateful day, which happened 70 years ago on Wednesday.

Hedley addressed a group of dozens, and told his story of growing up from a carefree young man to a young war hero in a tapestry of terror and trauma. Though 90 years old, Hedley’s voice is still strong, as well as his resolve to be thankful.

He opened with the question, “Who knows in here what boat was the first to sink on December 7, 1941?”

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A charade of answers poured forth. He smiled. 

“You’re all wrong,” he said. “It was a tug boat.”

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But the USS Arizona was indeed the first U.S. ship to be bombed. Hedley saw the whole thing happen from his position as gunpointer of a 16-inch gun battery at Turret 3 on the USS West Virginia.

The West Virginia was heavily torpedoed, took several bomb hits, and was badly damaged. Hedley himself escaped harm. He had a story about that.

Hedley sat down in a four-legged chair, and then he tilted back in it, looking out at the people listening to him.

“You know how kids are always leaning back in the chair, even though we tell them not to?” he asked. “Well, I used to do that as a young boy, even though my dad was constantly getting on me about it.

“One day, as I was leaning back on the chair, my dad came up behind me and knocked the chair down. Told me I needed to realize that all four legs were meant to stay on the ground.”

Hedley paused for a moment. “Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways in preparing us. Because of what my dad had taught me, I always sat with my feet under the stool behind the gun turret.”

In the attack on December 7, a shell hit the top wing of the West Virginia.

“The explosion blew a hole through the turret right by my feet. If I’d had my legs pointed straight out, they would have been blown clear off,” he said.

By the time the explosion went off, there was massive chaos on the ship, Hedley described.

“One of my crew members yelled, 'Stu, let’s get outta here,' although he didn’t say it that nice,” Hedley said, chuckling.

But Hedley had another obstacle to deal with. He wore a belt around his neck with the intercom speaker. He had to get it off him or it would have trapped him.  

“I tore that thing off like it was nothing,” he said.

Years later, he tried again to tear the elastic material of which the belt was made. It was seemingly impossible.

“I was absolutely mystified about how I’d been able to tear it off. Then I found my answer in National Enquirer,” he said

Everyone laughed. “I’m absolutely serious,’ he said, turning to the story about the super-mom lifting a one-ton truck off her child. “That’s when I realized that the adrenalin had given me the energy I needed to tear that belt off,” he said.

When Hedley had gotten up to the deck with one of his sailor friends on the ship, he knew he had to swim to shore.

“I told my friend that if I didn’t get killed today, I’ll see the end of the war. He asked me how I could possibly believe that. I said it was a matter of faith. He didn’t see it that way,” Hedley said.

So he jumped ship straight down into the water.

“The key was not to dive, but jump down, and go as deep as I could. When I hit the surface of the water to catch my breath, I had to thrash like mad to get the burning oil and flames out of the way,” Hedley said.

He did make it safely to shore. Incidentally, the friend who had taunted him about believing he would see the end of the war died just six months later.

Hedley was transferred to the USS San Francisco until March 1943, during which time he served in many battles including in the Solomon Islands.

The casualties were countless. Often, Hedley was asked to help identify the bodies.

“I came across the body of my best friend, Johnny. A glass shield had cut him in half. I just started laughing,” he said.

The officer accompanying him on the grisly duty slapped him.“He said that I could report him if I wanted, but that if he hadn’t slapped me, I would have gone stark raving mad,” Hedley said.

A steel resolve and a steady faith grounded Hedley through the rest of his naval career which ended in 1960. He then went to work at the until 1981. He also did infrared inspections of all MSC ships and Naval Aircraft carriers until 1996.

“My wife, the love of my life, pulled my liberty card in 1996,” Hedley joked.

Still, Hedley is not one to rest on his laurels. As president of the San Diego chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, he is on constant call to make speeches and presentations about his first-hand experiences.

“Pearl Harbor was not a defeat. It was an eye-opener,” he said.

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