All Hands on Deck

 Written by Shaan Goragandhi

This is a story about Pearl Harbor from the perspective of a marine trooper known as Samuel Fuqua. Pearl Harbor was an event where the Japanese bombed a tiny island in Hawaii. This caused America to join World War II against the Axis Powers.

All Hands On Deck!: Samuel Fuqua

By: Shaan Goragandhi

It was December 7th, 1941 and I watched the sun rise on my massive ship as I did every morning. It was a normal quiet morning. Everyone was sleeping, but I was up watching the famous harbor. Tensions have been rising between us and Japan, I thought.

    The calmness of the morning was suddenly interrupted when someone yelled, “Look out! The Japanese are here!”

“Get the guns! Shoot em’ down!” I commanded.

I saw hundreds of soldiers running through wide open roads, but I was on an aircraft carrier, and as the commander I directed people on the planes to fight back. I ran straight to the mighty chafe guns, where I loaded colossal bombs of smoke that would explode within a certain radius of the target. My efforts worked as the black smoke blinded some pilots making it harder to pinpoint the military outpost.

“Sir! Sir! I got one!” some officer yelled across the ship.

“Don’t tell me! Just shoot them!” I responded swiftly.

The soldier got back to work and I looked above me to see what was going on. I saw a massive plane with the biggest guns I had ever seen on a flying vehicle. In a haste, I turned my turret and started blasting the plane to smithereens.

    Many of my shots missed the target, but I kept firing. That plane needed to come down, I kept thinking.

    “FOCUS ALL FIRE ON THE PLANE AT 2:00!” I screamed.

    Everyone listened to the command and turned in one quick, unified motion. Rick-a-Tick-a-Rick-a-Tick-a. I could hear the massive engines, as I thought everyone else could, roaring. Please don’t be a kamikaze like the others. Please.

Time was quickly running out. The plane got 300 miles closer every second I wasted thinking of my next move. In the blink of an eye, the plan hit me.

“Everybody. . . Keep firing at the plane I am going to bring the ship to shore!” I notified everyone.

“Sir, yes, Sir!” everyone said. I was a bit disappointed because they didn’t act in a unified motion, but I shook the thought out of my head and directed the carrier to the bay.

“Everyone! Out of the ship! Now!” I let everyone pass me and get out first. When I finally ran down the bridge to the open land, it was too late. The bomber, with what seemed like war paint on it, strafed the deck and almost took me out. One bomb blew up the ship, leaking barrels of oil into the water, while the other missed and landed straight into the bay. The second bomb had such a big radius that a giant wall of water mixed with oil came splashing on me. My vision started to fade and the last thing I heard in the moment was a big wind motion and a loud thud. For about an hour I did not move.

“Who is that? I need help,” I paused and took a deep breath. “My vision is blurred … help me!” I continued. I heard the man mutter something else, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I was just praying that he would help me.

    “God bless-be careful … you-you kind soul.” I slowly whispered in tears.

    The figure ran straight towards me, picking me up. I heard his footsteps pattering on the hard black ground. I knew the military base like the back of my hand. The mysterious man was taking me to the hospital, where hopefully I would be treated. My eyes had opened a little bit, and as soon as I opened them, I saw hundreds of planes from America and Japan, crashing into the sea, like a fiery meteor.

    “Rest up, rest up,” my savior said. “Why? I don’t understand. I couldn’t hear or see anything in the sky. It was a beautiful day gone terribly wrong.”

We arrived at Hickam hospital, where I could stay safe for a little longer. I was put onto a bed, while my savior spoke to the doctor.

All of a sudden, I was breathing weirdly. I started to cough and it felt like I was being stabbed by the Japanese in my stomach. Cough! Cough! Black stuff splattered all over me. A medic immediately ran to my aid. I heard a drawer open and a faint needle rubbing sound. I was about to get up, but I couldn’t move. I was too weary. Another sharp pain entered my chest and this time I opened my eyes to see a massive needle filled to the brim with oil being extracted out of me.

    Out of nowhere, Bam! Glass shattered everywhere. I sat straight up and saw bullet holes in the window. A ginormous bomb hit the building and the walls started to collapse. The room went dark and the rows of medical files dangerously swayed across the room onto the floor. The medic, savior, and I ran through the debris.

    World War II will definitely see the U.S.A. entering the arena. From a distance we looked back at the hospital and saw the foundation was about to crack. I heard screams and the building collapsed with innocent souls inside. A large dust cloud covered us. We climbed over the mountain of rubble and saw a jaw-dropping site. Looking at the battlefield, I knew that this would have thousands of casualties. The doctor and my savior, started sprinting towards a concrete building. I immediately followed them and saw both of them taking cover in the corner of the building. I crawled toward them, and waited.

    “You're alive!” yelled the doctor.

    “Yes, and I’m a bit better. But look to the skies, the Japanese are retreating! Look! There is a radio!”

    “They’re leaving! They’re scared,” my savior joyfully exclaimed.

    I dropped to my knees, heavily sighed in relief, and slowly fell asleep from the whole ordeal…