y
THE WEST CRAVEN
HIGHLIGHT
Volume 1, No. 48
Vonceboro, N. C. - Thursdoy, December 7, 1978
12 Pages
Price: 20c
Two
veterans
remember
Pearl
Thad Lilly [left] and Earl Lewis shortly before the attack
on Pearl Harbor, December 7,1941.
Thad Lilly woke up on
Sunday morning, December
7, 1941 just like he had
many Sunday mornings
since he and two pf his
Vanceboro friends , had
joined the U.S. Army.
Stationed at Schofield
Barracks in the Hawaiian
Islands, he was enjoying
what has been called the
“Paradise of the Pacific.” A
few minutes before eight
o’clock, Thad walked into
the Mess Hall, picked up
the usual hot cakes for
breakfast, and headed for a
seat near some friends. Not
very far south, another
Vanceboro native, Earl
Lewis, was sipping a coke
on the deck of the Ogalak.
a minesweeper which was
tied to his own ship, the
U.S.S. Helena, a cruiser.
The ships were moored
directly across Pearl
Harbor from the U.S.S.
Arizona which like several
other battleships rode
anchor in the perfect
formation of Battleship
Row. From where Earl
stood, he could see Hickam
Field off to the right with
its proud planes lined up on
the runway shining in the
morning tropical sun.
Sweeping around to his left
he could see the rest of the
United States Pacific Fleet
at anchor with colorful flags
flying and polished armor
reflecting a power which
seemed invincible.
As Earl took a second
swallow from his drink, he
noticed an airplane peel out
of the heavens over near
HickamField. Suddenly, a
huge explosion sent clouds
of dirt high up in the air.
"At first, we paid little
attention to the explosion
since the Air Force was
always making simulated
bombing runs,” Lewis ex
plained. When the next
explosion sent up clouds of
fire, smoke, and the twisted
metal of the once neatly
lined planes, Earl put down
his drink and headed for his
battle station on the.
Helena. He was almost half
way there when an explo
sion ripped the Helena
claiming over thirty lives.
Meanwhile back at
Schofield, Thad Lilly was
just getting ready to eat
his hot cakes when he
Sewer hook-ups
i begin today
m
Vanceboro, N.C.-Mayor
Jimmie Morris announced
that the long awaited hook
ups to the new Vanceboro
Waste Treatment System
can begin today. The
announcement came at the
regular monthly meeting of
the Vanceboro Board of
Aldermen. Following the
meeting. Mayor Morris
took the aldermen present
on a tour of the new facility
located south of Vanceboro
on Highway 17. Morris
indicated earlier that
citizens would have forty-
five days in which to hook
up to the system. After the
forty-five day period, the
situation would be
reviewed by the Board.
Morris indicated the follow
ing the forty-five day
period the Board would
probably recommend that
customers be billed for the
sewer service whether
hooked up or not. He added
that the waste treatment
system is completed except
for some minor clean-up
and street repairs. A
formal dedication of the
new facility will come in
the early spring. In other
action, Morris announced
that Rev. Ron Chapman,
pastor of the Vanceboro
Christian Church, will serve
as the town’s magistrate.
He will have an office in the
Old Town Hall building and
will post some office hours.
Alderman Alton Whitley
announced that the County
Board of Commissioners
had approved up to $1200
in matching funds to con
struct a rest room in the
Vanceboro Public Library.
Mayor Morris expressed
concern that with the high
priced electrical equipment
in the sewer plant
something must be done to
discourage people from
driving back to the plant.
He recommended fencing in
the road with a gate close
to the highway using
money that had not been
spent. The Board approved
his recommendation.
See Diagram
Page 7
heard ' an explosion. It
sounded like a boiler
blowing up, not uncommon
an occurence. However,
-When he heard the second,
then the third explosion,
Thad realized something
was wrong. “I ran outside
into the quadrangle and
saw planes flying over
head. As my eyes scanned
the skies, I could see
bombers diving in on
Wheeler Field, an Air
Force base very close by.
Bombs visible falling from
the planes caused tremen
dous explosions which sent
up billows of smoke and
fire. I heard someone say
‘They’re pulling better
maneuvers this year than
last year.’ Then as one
plane turned, I saw the
insignia. The Rising Sun,
on it. About this time some
one yelled! ‘We’re being
attacked by the Japanese!
Japanese fighter planes
began strafing us with
maching gun bullets. I ran
into the barracks to get my
equipment. While there, I
heard on the radio that
Pearl Harbor and Hickam
Field were under attack.
By this time, my unit, the
21st Infantry Regiment was
firing machine guns, M-1
rifles, and Browing Auto
matic Rifles at the planes.”
explained Lilly. Lilly added
that a few days after the
attack, he learned that the
21st had been credited for
shooting down six planes
(two Japanese and four
American.)
After the first explosion,
a second rocked the Helena,
but Earl managed to get to
his station below deck in
the ammunition storage
area for one of the foward
gun turrets. Earl’s job was
to help pass ammunition up
’Thad Lilly [left] and Earl
Harbor, today.
to the turret for firing.
During the heaviest part of
the attack, Lewis was
ordered to go up into the
turret to help with the
firing. However before Earl
could grasp the ladder, a
friend scurried up in his
place. As the young sailor
climbed out of the hatch a
nearby explosion ripped
him in half killing him
instantly. When Earl finally
did come out of the below
deck compartment after the
attack was over, he wit
nessed a terrifying sight.
The once proud U.S. Pacific
Fleet was in shambles.
Fires raged out of control
over at Hickam Field as
well as on many ships in
the harbor. Across the way,
the U.S.S. Arizona was
sinking. "We were really
scared," Earl explained,
“We didn’t know if the Japs
were going to come back or
not. We set up machine
guns on the deck And shot
at anything that moved
across the sky. I helped
shoot down three American
planes myself.”
Lilly and Lewis had been in
the U.S. Armed Forces
scarcely a year when the
Japanese attacked. Lilly re
called that he and two
friends had originally
decided to join the navy
since jobs in Depression-
ridden eastern North
Carolina were hard to come
by. However, one member
of the trio failed to pass his
entrance requirements. The
group decided to stay
together and went to join
the army. According to
Thad, the boys chose
foreign service and request
ed Hawaii probably because
of the pictures they had
seen labeling it as the
"Paradise of the Pacific."
Lewis, stfll remember Pearl
"Of course, I imagine the
pictures we had seen of
those Hawaiian girls
dancing the hula probably
impressed us, a great deal,”
Lilly explained. Lilly
remembered seeing the
beautiful harbor on his way
to Honolulu on Saturday
afternoon, December 6. The
ships lined up displaying all
their colors were especially
impressive to him since he
had wanted to join the
navy in the beginning. The
next time Lilly saw Pearl
Harbor, he was carrying
the wivjBS and children of
the officers and enlisted
men to catch their ships
which would take them
back to the mainland. The
sight that greeted him was
quite different from the one
a few hours before. Both
men felt very lucky to
return home safely. After
Pearl Harbor, Lilly saw
action in some of the Pacific
Islands against the
Japanese and later against
the Nazis in Europe. In
Europe, he was severly
wounded in an explosion
that killed several men
near him. Earl stayed on
the Helena until it was
sunk by Japanese tor
pedoes later in the war.
Both men found their way
back home to eastern North
Carolina after the war.
Thad Lilly now resides in
Grifton, N.C. with his wife,
the former Bertie Small of
Newport. They have 2
children. Earl Lewis lives
in Vanceboro where he
serves as head of the
town’s Water and Sani
tation Departments. He is
married to the former Della
Coward of Vanceboro. They
have 2 children.
Rick Cannon