Joseph Ryan

Navy radioman Joseph Ryan witnessed the destruction of most of the big ships in Battleship Row from various vantages inside the danger zone. After being blown off his feet while serving on the USS Argonne, he spent most of the remainder of the attack aboard smaller vessels endeavoring to rescue sailors who had to abandon the larger warships.

Ijoined the Navy in New York City on November 19, 1940. I went to Boot Camp in Newport, Rhode Island, where I got pneumonia. I had made the Class A school to be a radioman, but my training was delayed for a month due to the pneumonia. After I recuperated, I went to San Diego for 16 weeks of radio school. I completed training in August 1941, a month after the rest of my class, who had already graduated. In September, I went to Pearl...