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Captain Charles J. Merdinger, CEC, USN (Retired)
Captain Charles J. Merdinger, CEC, USN (Retired)
(U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

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The Sinking of the USS Nevada (BB-36)

Captain Merdinger relives the attack on Pearl Harbor.
By Taira Payne
December 2022
Naval History Magazine
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On the morning of 7 December 1941 in Pearl Harbor, then-Ensign Charles Merdinger awoke to alarms and stepped through his socks in his haste to get to his battle station on board the battleship USS Nevada (BB-36) as she came under attack. In this audio clip, Captain Merdinger gives a vivid account of the near-disastrous situation he found himself in while in the Nevada's plotting room during the surprise Japanese strike.

Torpedo damage to USS Nevada (BB-36)
Torpedo damage to USS Nevada (BB-36) (U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

 

To read more about the Naval Institute Oral History Program, click here.

 

Taira Sullivan

Taira Payne was the Project Manager, Digital Assets & Web for the U.S. Naval Institute until January 2022. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science, specializing in Archives and Digital Curation, from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor’s in History from Washington College.

More Stories From This Author View Biography

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