Just beneath the placid waters of Pearl Harbor, the USS Utah now serves as a silent guardian of history, entombing in its watery grave 54 sailors who lost their lives during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. One of them was a touching relic, a small urn containing the ashes of a baby girl, Nancy Lynne Wagner.
Chief Yeoman Albert Thomas Dewitt Wagner had been planning to scatter his daughter’s ashes at sea, which he had kept in his locker. That surprise attack thwarted the plan. Wagner survived, but could not retrieve the urn. “Frogmen did go down about two weeks after the attack and tried to enter the quarters,” recalled Mary Dianne Wagner Kreigh, Wagner’s surviving twin daughter, “but it was too badly smashed to get in.”
Speaking about the tragedy, Kreigh said she felt a sense of pride. “I don’t think there is a better tribute to my twin sister than to have all those wonderful and brave men guarding her,” she said. “I could have not asked for anything better than for her to be tenderly, carefully looked after by America’s finest.”
By 1941, the pre-WWI ship USS Utah had been disarmed and was serving as a target vessel. Japanese pilots nevertheless attacked her in confusion. The first torpedo hit at 0801, and by 0812, the Utah had capsized. From a total crew of 519 men, 461 survived the tragedy, partly through the help of men such as John Vaessan, who kept the lights on, illuminating the way to safety.
The Utah was nearly completely righted post-attack, but the Navy concluded that she had too little military value to be raised. Alongside Arizona and Oklahoma, Utah is one of the three ships that did not return to service after Pearl Harbor.
The USS Utah memorial was dedicated in 1972 as a tribute to the men lost and the vessel that stands as their monument. Unlike the more frequented Arizona Memorial, the Utah Memorial is less visited and is accessible mainly only with U.S. Military Identification.
Acts of heroism marked the attack on Pearl Harbor, which included the remarkable rescue efforts led by civilian worker Julio DeCastro on the capsized USS Oklahoma. After DeCastro and his team had cut into the hull with blowtorches and chipping guns, 32 sailors trapped inside had been saved. “They were risking their own lives to rescue these men,” said Tom Czekanski, senior curator at the National WWII Museum.
That legacy is preserved by survivors, including Ira “Ike” Schab, now 103, who returned to the scene 82 years later to honor fallen comrades. He recalled his personal experience of the attack, expressing fear and a lot of confusion, but added that he feels quite lucky to be able to salute those who didn’t make it.
With few living Pearl Harbor survivors remaining, the charge of remembering and honoring their sacrifices is passed down the line to future generations. “We could be the best storytellers in the world and we can’t really hold a candle to those that lived it sharing their stories firsthand,” said David Kilton of the National Park Service.
Much like the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma, the USS Utah has gone on to become a living and lasting reminder of the cost in blood for war and the spirit that shall be carried by those who gave their service.