Good morning. Saturday will be sunny with a high of sixteen, with wind chill values of zero to ten below.
On this day in 1941, at 7:48 AM local time, Japanese warplanes attacked Pearl Harbor.
Wisconsinite Russ Warrnier survived the attack:
1941 – Wisconsin Man Survives Pearl Harbor Attack
On this date Russ Warriner, a 25-year-old first class seaman on the USS Arizona, miraculously survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The explosions ripped apart the Arizona and killed nearly all his mates. At the time of the attack, Warriner was on the sky control platform, where his job was to spot enemy ships and planes. The bomb that struck the Arizona sliced through the steel deck and exploded into a fuel tank. Fire flared for seven seconds before it ignited 1.7 million pounds of explosives held in the ship’s magazine. More than 1,000 sailors died instantly, including many on the lookout platform with Warriner. Warriner lost his balance and fell onto the platform. His hands swept through fiery magnesium remaining from incendiary bombs and were nearly burned off. He was knocked off the ship, pulled aboard a small motor boat, and eventually made his way to shore.Warriner was treated at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, where plastic surgeons were able to repair his hands. Warriner settled in Wisconsin, married and raised two children. In the late 90s, Warriner was a retired piano tuner living in Beloit Township. [Source: Janesville Gazette]
Two years later, on 12.7.1943, the U.S. Navy christened a new battleship for the war:
1943 – USS-Wisconsin Christened
On this date the USS-Wisconsin was christened by Wisconsin’s first lady Madge Goodland. The ship was re-christened by Mrs. Goodland in March, 1951 during the Korean War. The USS-Wisconsin was inactive for many years but was recommissioned in 1989. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin, the Governor’s Wives by Nancy G. Williams, p.181]