James O. Stansell
BM2/C US Navy 1941 - 1946 Hawaii
President, Pearl Harbor Survivors Association North Cascade Chapter #5, WA
Sponsored by Family & Friends

A Teenager Grows Up the Hard Way. Stansell arrived in Pearl Harbor in February of 1941. It was almost a year later when, on December 7th, he was getting ready to go to church. He and his crewmates had just come in from a mission at sea and had tied up to a large ship, the U.S.S. Dobbin, who gave their ship power. As Stansell was sitting there, preparing for church, someone came down and informed him that they were being attacked. Immediately, Stansell ran up to the topside. The first thing he saw, was a Japanese plane so close that he could see the pilot's face. The planes, he remembers, were everywhere. As soon as the attack had started, the Dobbin cut the Hull off from power, leaving Stansell (a sight-setter, at the time) and the rest of the crew useless; without power, they couldn't work any of their power guns. In Stansell's words, he had plenty of time to "look around". And he saw everything on that day that has truly lived in imfamy. Being somewhat close to the U.S.S. Arizona, he saw it blow up. He saw the U.S.S. Utah roll over, the Nevada sink and run aground, and the floating dry-dock blow up-all before smoke clouded his vision. Stansell, a seventeen year old boy, found himself in the midst of one of the most deadly battles in American history, ships exploding on either side of him. He was, to put it simply, scared to death. The Hull itself saw a bit of action. When ships were hit, many times personnel fell of jumped into the water. From there, they swam to other ships in hope of finding safety. The Hull received some sailors from the U.S.S. Oklahoma. As well, even though the Hull was a smaller, lesser target for the Japanese, it was still threatened by bombs and straffing. It was positioned juust off of the north end of the Ford Island airstrip, so when the Japanese pilots made their runs, they pulled out of their dives right over the Hull. Anything that was left was dropped onto the ship. The Dobbin, next to the Hull, was hit. The Hull itself was hit under the stern, damaging the rudder. Finally, the element of shock began to wear off and the ships began to pull themselves together. The Hull got its fireroom back and got underway, out of Pearl Harbor onto offshore patrol, searching for whatever could be seen. By that time, it was already late afternoon. During the night, Stansell and the others on the Hull saw some mysterious lights in the water. They cruised around them and waited until daylight, when they discovered a Japanese fishing boat that had been fueling a small Japanses submarine. The sub escaped, but the fishing boat were caught by the Hull and turned over to the Harbor Patrol. In the morning, the Hull returned to Pearl Harbor, and again, tied onto the Dobbin. That was when the real damage was realized - the sunk and capsized ships, the bombed buildings, the flooded dry-dock which held one battleships and two destroyers, all of which were on fire. By this time, there were many American planes returning from their patrols, but Army and the Marines, and the Navy were so spooked by the attack that they began firing "AT" the American planes!!! Within one week after the attack, we completed our repairs and outfitted for the South Pacific. There, we joined the ANZAC FORCE, in the Coral Sea. This led us directly into the Pacific War. James O. Stansell U.S.S. Hull this day of February 22, 2007

Testimonials:

James,

Thank you so much for your service in defending our country. My name is Allie and I am a high school student here in Western Washington and I was wondering if I could possibly interview you for a project in my United States history class. The incident at Pearl Harbor has always been a personal interest of mine and I would love to get the chance to talk to you about it. Please feel free to email me at amartens16@hotmail.com.

Thanks again,
Allie

Allie - Washington

My name is Randy J. Cross. I live in Bellingham, WA. I met Jim Stansell about 1 year ago. My wife walks in the mornings, at Bellis Fair Mall. She told me about this old fellow, with the Pearl Harbor Hat, and I said to her,"I am going tomorrow, to me this fellow!" So, there I was, ready for Jim to come thru the door. When he arrived, I intoduced myself, and said,"Thank you for you service to our Country!" That was the start of a wonderful friendship. Jim and I have got together 6 days a week since then. I am now a part of his life, and let me tell you, he is a man's man! I am so proud to be a friend of his. He has taught me many lessons. I would do just about anything for him. He and his group, PHSA Cascades Chapter#5, here in Western Washington, has made me, an honorary member! I can't tell you what it means to me, to be a part of something like this. He is the President of the Chapter, and does a great job of running the club. They meet once a month, and it is the highlight of my social calender. I know most of the other survivors, in his club, and they all have a great story to tell. To be in a room, with 15 to 20 of these guys, in just stunning. They are, will continue to be my heroes!! My Father served his Country in Korea, 3 purple hearts. He is now gone, but I thank him every day, for the principls he installed in me.
Love of Country, Family, and respect for the Military. God Bless you Dad!!

Find yourself a Veteran, and become his freind, and change someone's life. Its a wonderful ride.

Sincerely,

Randy J. Cross
American Patriot

March 28, 2007

Randy J. Cross - Bellingham, WA 98226

James, thank you for your service to our country.

Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii