Pearl Harbor: Asian Americans Witness Air Raid on Dec 7th, 1941 (part 2 of 5)
Nihonmachi Outreach Committee
Chip Chiapetta (age 17) grew up in the Kalihi district along with 50 other Japanese American families on Oahu . Unlike many whites on the island he got along very well with his Japanese American neighbors. He recalled that when someone's mother was sick the other neighbors would offer to "bring food and help take care of the kids till they got better". "No one had locks on their doors or windows".
On Dec 7th 1941 at 7:50 in the morning Chip was outside of his aunts house (across Pearl Harbor) when he noticed a formation of planes droning in from a distance. Japanese torpedo planes made their runs on the USS Arizona and several other ships at Pearl Harbor. After the torpedoes made their mark, Chip noticed "big holes" in the battleships hulls. At first he thought it was a US Navy exercise until he saw a Japanese attack plane zoom over him with the Rising Sun insignia on its wings. Chip remembered a face of a Japanese rear gunner peering down at him as the plane flew past. Suddenly a US Navy 3" AA shell burst right over head and a piece of shrapnel fell on his neck; "man it was hot!" said Chip.
He later saw the USS Arizona struck by a bomb from a Japanese level bomber. The Arizona blew up and went down to the bottom. Another Japanese plane was shot down and its pilot bailed out onto some railroad tracks near the house. 50 cal anti aircraft bullets from across the bay shot up the Japanese pilot as the bullets ricochet off the tracks. Chip and his family hid in the sugar cane field. His aunt screamed" keep your head down!" Later in the attack a few American fighter planes got airborne and attacked some of the Japanese bombers. Some Japanese bombers ditched their bombs to escape ( bombs slow the planes airspeed) but "they landed into the local market area but nobody was hurt". Chip recalled he wasn't frightened "I was just curious".
Many Japanese American families were afraid to come out of their homes. Chip described that "they felt ashamed that Japan attacked".
"I felt bad because to think our mother country had attached my country" one witness mentioned.
Chip recalled the young Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans)
men were "cussing mad" and signed up for the Army at the
first opportunity. (10,000 JA's initially volunteered for the 442nd.
The US Army accepted about 2000)
Pearl Harbor 3 - Inazu Noda
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Many Japanese American families were afraid to come out of their homes. Chip described that "they felt ashamed that Japan attacked"
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