Stories from “The Okie” the USS Oklahoma

December 7, 1941 is a day as they said will live in infamy. And that it has 75 years later we discuss and remember what happened on that morning at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I don’t think there is a person alive that doesn’t know the story of what happened.

We talk about a lot stories of heroics and loss and how it turned the war in favor of the allies. One of my favorite quotes that gives me goose bumps is allegedly from Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto some months after the Pearl Harbor attack saying “I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with terrible resolve” he may or may not have wrote it but I sure do like it.

As a current member of the Navy reserves going into my 11^th year, Pearl Harbor means a great deal to me and reading stories of what young men did just astounds me. One story that caught my eye this year is of a Navy Chaplain that did way more than he was asked and gave just what he was asked by his country.

Reverend Aloysius Schmitt (LTJG)

I am speaking of Reverend Aloysius Schmitt, not many chaplains get their name mentioned among the likes of war heroes. This chaplain put his life on the line for his fellow sailors and in the end paid the ultimate sacrifice for saving others. I would love to tell you that Mr. Schmitt was from Oklahoma but that’s not the case. He was born in St. Lucas, Iowa and became an ordained priest in 1935 after just four years he became a chaplain in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in 1939. One year after joining the Navy he was assigned to the USS Oklahoma. He had no idea the day he received those orders that he would be on one the most famous ships in history and eventually lose is his life on that shi

p.

It is said that Schmitt had finished up morning Mass when torpedoes struck the side of the Oklahoma and the lower decks began filling with water. Trapping all lower deck, the sailors inside. Rev. Schmitt was among a group of sailors who found a small porthole leading out of the ship and instead of getting out he used his height to lift other sailors through the porthole to escape the ship which was sinking fast. It took the Oklahoma only 12 minutes to capsize not much time for hundreds of sailors to escape. Rev. Schmitt went down with the ship that day but saved several other lives in doing so. He became the first Chaplain to die in World War II, in all there would be 100 total chaplains die by the end of the war.

Capsized USS Oklahoma (center) alnongside the USS Maryland (right)

He was awarded several medals including the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal for bravery and the Purple Heart. He also had a destroyer named after him the USS Schmitt. Now that is one way to go out if you are going to go.

 Of the 429 people who perished that day Schmitt was one of the “unknowns” for a long time but was recently identified and sent back to Dubuque, Iowa and finally had a proper burial on October 7, 2016.

This is just one of many stories of heroism that occurred on the USS Oklahoma that day, and a stretch for Oklahoma history but a story I wanted to tell.

The USS Oklahoma Memorial Pearl Harbor dedicated Dec 7 2007

Twitter: @okiehistorypics 

Rev Schmitt picture courtesy of;  Telegraph Herald

 USS Oklahoma picture courtesy of: Ho'okole

USS Oklahoma memorial picture courtesy of: Oklahoma Memorial 

Oklahoma Turns 109

via Oklahoma Historical Society

Today is Oklahoma's 109th year of statehood, becoming a state on this day November 16th 1907. That day in Guthrie they held an inauguration parade for Oklahoma's first governor Charles N. Haskell. Haskell was born in Ohio but made his way to Muskogee via a business venture in a rail line that ran from Fayetteville, Arkansas. After serving as a delegate to the Sequoya's Constitutional Convention in 1905, he won the vote for Oklahoma's first governor by nearly 30,000 votes. The population of both Oklahoma and Indian Territory where a combined 1,414,177. According to the election board website there were three candidates on the ballot. Democratic nominee Haskell received 134,162 votes and Republican Frank Frantz received 106,507 votes and Socialist candidate Joseph Hanna received 9,678 votes . There were a total of 250,409 votes cast. That is 17% of the population at the time. Considering the era that isn't half bad. In 109 years we have only increased that to 39% of the Oklahoma population voting.

via Maps Etc

The town of Haskell, Oklahoma is named after our first governor as well as Haskell County.  You can also thank Mr. Haskell for getting Oklahoma started on the "dry" side of the alcohol laws by writing prohibition into our constitution. It wasn't till 1933, coincidentally the same year that Charles Haskell died, that they introduced the sale of beer in Oklahoma.

via Chickasaw.tv 

But this is not about liquor laws and such, its about becoming a state. It is celebrating the day our great state actually became a recognized state and not just a territory anymore.

Just for fun here are some other things that
happened around the state and the world in 1907.
The week before we became a state the 3rd Bedlam game was held in Norman between Oklahoma A&M and University of Oklahoma. Which might I add if you look on the map above the University of Oklahoma was actually in Indian Territory so Oklahoma State fans can say that they are the original university in Oklahoma.

However, I digress.  As most of you probably know the Chicago Cubs won the world series in 1907. Royal Oil and Shell merge to form British Petroleum (BP). The worlds first air force was established by the US Army. The famous Pike Place Market was dedicated in Seattle. Lot's of things happened in 1907 but by far the most important was on November 16th 1907, live it up Oklahoma you're getting up there!