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| Everett Lush, WWII veteran and Pearl Harbor attack survivor, http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=47173 |
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| Author: | Stearman75972 [ Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Everett Lush, WWII veteran and Pearl Harbor attack survivor, |
Everett Lush, WWII veteran and Pearl Harbor attack survivor, dies at 93 BY TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer Sunday, September 09, 2012 9/9/2012 2:40:14 AM When it all began, Everett Lush was swabbing a deck. But no mop could clean up what he was looking at now. With the smoke clearing following Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the young seaman found himself with a grim task: helping pick up body parts. Along with the images of explosions and sinking ships, the scene would stay with him. One memory, however, trumped them all. Years later, Lush would still talk about looking through his gun sights aboard the U.S.S. Helena and seeing it - " 'Old Glory' flying above the smoke of one of our battleships." "It stands out in my mind," he said. Everett E. Lush, a World War II veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor who went on to a long career as a mechanic with American Airlines in Tulsa, died Sept. 6. He was 93. A graveside service is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson. Ninde Brookside Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Lush wrote down some of his memories for a book compiled by the Tulsa-area Veterans of Pearl Harbor group. On the day of the attack, Dec. 7, 1941, he was swabbing the deck in the ship's living quarters. That's where he was, two levels below a gun turret, when the first bombs hit. Hearing the sirens and explosions, he rushed to the top deck and began helping pass ammunition to an anti-aircraft gun. "I knew exactly where to go," Lush wrote. "As I came up the ladder and my eyes were level with the top deck, I could see nearby Ford Island all flames and smoke." The Helena was hit by a torpedo and at least one bomb during the attack. But the light cruiser stayed afloat, and the sailors were able to work some of the guns, despite the damage. Lush kept a copy of a letter that his ship's captain sent to the crew members four days after the Japanese raids, commending them for their performance. Lush went on to receive an honorable discharge for medical reasons and eventually used the G.I. Bill to attend an airframe and engines school in New York. He was fortunate in that; the Helena would later be sunk by the Japanese. It happened during the 1943 battle of Kula Gulf, with 732 crew members surviving. Nearly 170 crewmen were killed. For several years, Lush, who spent 33 years with American Airlines, joined former Helena sailors for annual reunions. Keith Myers, president of the Tulsa Pearl Harbor Veterans group, said Lush was also a welcome presence at his group's meetings. Myers used to give him rides, in fact, and later visited him regularly at the Claremore Veterans Center. "You didn't want to get Mr. Lush's dander up. He definitely had his opinions," Myers said, laughing. "But essentially he was a very gentle person and very proud of his military service." Myers, whose father was a Navy fighter pilot during World War II, said Lush used to call him from the veterans center, sometimes at 2 a.m., to talk to him. "And he was always talking about trips he was going to take. He'd get very excited." Most of those travels never materialized, but in 2001 he did visit Pearl Harbor for 60th-anniversary ceremonies. It was his first time to return since the war. Talking about the trip to the Tulsa World later, he said, "Pearl Harbor was the beginning of World War II for us. A good many vets were involved in that, and a good many vets did not make it. We're pretty lucky to be alive to tell about it." Original Print Headline: Survivor of attack on Pearl Harbor shared memories |
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