The U.S.S. Ward at Pearl Harbor: Minnesota Sailors Fire the First Shot of the Pacific War

Appearing in authentic WWII sailor uniform, the speaker will tell the story of the crew of a little known destroyer and its crew of Minnesota sailors. Less than a year before America entered into the Second World War, a bunch of young Minnesotans joined the U.S. Navy. After their training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center and other locales, these men were shipped off to serve their country. Imagine their excitement at finding out that they would be stationed at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Island of Oahu! Anticipation of the beautiful tropics with beautiful hula girls filled their heads. They could not believe that they were going to get paid for serving as sailors in this tropical paradise! Their excitement was soon tempered when the daily chores of ship-board life started to take some of the joy out of the tropics. These Minnesotans proved to be excellent sailors who were proud to serve on the destroyer U.S.S. Ward. They kept the vessel ship-shape and proved them selves to able sea-men. The crew of the U.S.S. Ward was often assigned sentry duty, patrolling outside the entrance to Pearl Harbor Naval Base. Their job was to keep the harbor secure by making certain that only authorized U.S. vessels entered the harbor. The sailors found the routine of this daily patrol to be pretty mundane and down-right mind-numbingly boring. Boring, that is, until the early morning hours of December 7, 1941, when their lives would be changed forever. It was on this day the crew of the U.S.S. Ward spotted a submarine trying to sneak in to the harbor entrance.

By firing two shots from their ship's guns and dropping four depth-charges, the crew of the Ward would earn a place in the history books. And this day was only the beginning of their outstanding service during WWII. Hear and see the events of December 7, 1941 and the following three year of the Ward's service play out before you as Arn Kind brings these exciting historical events to life.