Lion - January 2018

One Of Us

2017-12-20 05:03:02

Delbert Sharrett, Pearl Harbor Survivor

Madison Lions, Ohio

At 94, retired steel worker and Navy veteran Delbert Sharrett lives a dignified life in the country. He’s quiet, thoughtful and kind, say his friends at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Germantown, Ohio. But Sharrett is also his community’s pride, a living piece of American history. He is one in a dwindling number of Pearl Harbor survivors and is frequently asked to share his memories of that sad, historic day.

He obliges.

“The children don’t know,” he says. “And they won’t know unless we teach them.”

Sharrett arrived at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 4, 1941, three days before the attack. He had just come off watch and was in the mess hall of the Seagull, a small sub tender not far from the Harbor, eating and listening to “that beautiful Hawaiian music” when the news came on the radio: “THIS IS NOT A DRILL … .”

Instantly, this 18-year-old farm boy who had enlisted instead of finishing high school, who had to convince his father to sign the papers, who only knew he liked the Navy uniform his 17-year-old relative wore, was thrust into World War II.

How did your parents feel about you enlisting?

My mother was all for it. My father begged me not to go. ”But you’ll get killed, Delbert,” he said. ”You’ll get killed.”

What was your first view of the attack?

I could feel the terrible heat, and I saw the black smoke, a massive black cloud that turned out to be the [Battleship USS] Nevada. We could see flashes of light across the harbor, and when it was light I could see that the leaves of the beautiful palm trees had melted from the heat. And my eyes filled with tears, and I just cried.

How did you handle the chaos that followed?

You just did. At the end of the first day I remember that I went back to my bunk, and there was a sailor in it asleep. I told my officer, and he woke the guy and told him to go find somewhere else to sleep. But he had no place to sleep. There were men everywhere, wherever they could find a place to rest. I still feel bad. I wish I had more compassion then, but I was so young. I didn’t know the compassion you have to have in that situation. But I know now.

How long did you serve?

Six years, three in Hawaii.

How did your family react when you were reported missing in action?

I was writing letters home. But they had put a hold on all materials leaving the island, so they didn’t know I was OK. My father joined the Navy.

And after the war?

I went home, finished high school and got a job.

Why did you join Lions in ’66?

A friend invited me. I’ve been a Lion for more years than I wasn’t a Lion.

Did you share war stories with your family?

Never. I wanted to get it out of my head as much as I could. It was so hard to understand why anybody would want to hurt our country when we’re always helping everybody out.

What do you do on December 7?

I think about my shipmate who introduced me to my wife, Lillie Mae. I got to come home, have a wife and a family. He never got to come home. I think about him all the time.

You’ll be 95 soon. Are you shooting for 100?

I’m shooting for tomorrow.

Published by International Association of Lions Clubs . View All Articles.

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