September 11th, 1941.
My name is Louis Kennedy. I am 18 years old, and I have begun to write about myself because I was drafted by the US army to join the Navy. I will start to get to know you over the following years, and you will be my closest friend for the time being. I’m going to start with me when me and my family found out that I was first drafted to start you off and give you some insight for me being here. We were sitting at the table eating breakfast, my father, a tough but kind man named James Kennedy was reading the morning paper and my sister, Mary had got the mail from outside, giving the large bundle of mail (Which consisted of mostly taxes and other bills) to my mother. I was eating my cereal quietly, waiting for something interesting to happen longingly, though I knew nothing interesting happens on Sundays except for Church, which is when I get to meet my buddy William Johnson. I don’t want to brag, but I am quite popular in school and known as quite a nice guy. My mother’s gasp is what got me out of my daydreaming. She dropped the mail on the table, her eyes tearing up. She passed an envelope to my father, who ended up having a similar reaction. Finally, I decided that I wanted to be part of the drama, and I looked over and saw the envelope my mother had dropped on the table, it read, “For Louis Kennedy, United States Army”  I slowly walked over to my father, the letter read,
Louis Kennedy,
You have been chosen by the United States Army to join the Navy. Your position is to be a Marine Machine Gunner onboard the U.S.S Arizona, which is to be docked at Pearl Harbor to undergo training. Admiral Robert Glaser will be your head and you will report to him at the docks of New York City September 12th, 1941. Thank you for supporting the United States Army, and we will be glad to have you as our accomplice.
Regards,
The United States Army
Now I had the same reaction as them. I stood in place, my arms shaking. I couldn’t depict the reality of the situation. The muscles in my body grew weaker, and I walked over slowly to my seat, using the side of the table to support myself. Finally able to regain my thoughts, I thought about the incident. Can this be good or bad? On one side of the argument, I could go to school and get bored of hearing my teachers talking about the same things over and over again, and on the other side of the argument, I could be sitting on top of the USS Arizona wearing aviators and a commando outfit gunning down the Chinese. As you may be able to tell, this decision was easy for me, and the United State Army seemed to agree with me.

September 12th, 1941.
I was to be driven by my father to New York Harbor, where admiral Robert Glaser was to meet me. Before I left, I made sure to tell my sister that I loved her, and that she shouldn’t quit school and become an outlaw. I said my good-byes to my mother, and me and father walked to the car. I was wearing casual clothes; trousers, and a button-up shirt. The fact that I would be sent to war still hadn’t set well in my mind, but I knew that the government had needed me. I sat in the car, tinkering with the door handle pulling it open and close. Honestly, I was pretty nervous. I was getting into my family’s 1938 Buick series 40 for the last time before I would be sent off to war. I admired the jet-black finish on the car with its solid exterior and smooth leather interior. Driving in the car, I looked out the window to see New York City. My family’s house was about ten minutes from the city, so we often visited on the weekends. I pulled down my window, tasting the salty air of the Hudson. Finally, we took a turn into a parking lot overlooking New York Harbor. Parking the car in the filled parking space, me and my father stepped out into New York City. I stretched out for a bit, loosening myself before walking over to my father, who had opened the trunk to get the little luggage I had. We walked on the sidewalk close to the river, I walked right against the fence that guarded pedestrians from falling into the river, making sure that my shirt didn’t get caught on a piece of wood that stuck out. All across the Hudson I could see the magnificent city of New York, and the beautiful Statue of Liberty to compliment the surrounding area. Words between my father were abrupt during our walk. We talked only about how school was going for me and how my friends were. He mentioned nothing about me joining the army. Finally, I could see the breath-taking USS Arizona. This was the ship that I was to serve in. This, however, was not the ship that I would be going in at the moment. We walked farther to a more classic boat with a mast tied against the stern. The wood that comprised the ship was light-colored and pleasing to the eye.

December 5th, 1941,
Dear Diary, it had been quite a while since we have last, and much has happened in the duration of that time. Coincidentally, I met my friend William Jonson which I had mentioned earlier. He was also drafted into the US Navy like I was. We both now work as machine gunners in the USS Arizona. We are to be docked at Pearl Harbor in a few hours, and until then I will write some more and then get a snack. Saying good-bye to my father was probably the hardest thing that I had to do. He was the one that had raised me up from a boy into a man, and it was tough for me to leave him. I got onto the oak ship and met my superior, Admiral Robert Glaser. He did not strike me as much of an intimidating man, but more of a calm laid back guy. We sat at the table on deck as the ship was about to leave the Harbor. He told me that we were to have an eight-hour ride to Pearl Harbor, and he told me to go under deck to meet the others that were to join me. That was when I saw William. We both sat at below deck and played cards. He had sneaked in a pack of beer, which wasn’t allowed, but much welcomed by everyone. We sat, playing cards and talking about his experience saying goodbye to his family, which was particularly heart breaking. He told me that his whole family drove him to the harbor and they had a picnic near the shore before their son was about to leave them. The other crewmen sat with us as well, and we all talked about how our families found out that they had gotten drafted and the sorrows their families had to face. Finally, we heard a holler from upstairs telling us that we had docked at Pearl Harbor. Everyone got out and stretched, bringing their luggage, which was quite minimal, off the ship. The island was like paradise. The men faced a large beach with soldiers swimming in the water and admiring the view. Some were lying down on a bench, beads of sweat coming down their faces from their recent workout. We walked down towards the Admiral who had greeted us with a warm smile. He lead us down the beach into a small town. Looking up, I could see the American flag waving in the air right above an army base camp and a hangar right next to that. The Admiral lead us into our camps and had us line up in front of him as we reached the camp, and he started calling out pairs of names to put into bunkers. Joey and Daniel, bunker 3. Carl and Jimmy, bunker 4… and finally he got to my name. Louis and William, bunker 5. We both looked at each other out of line, and at the same time we realized how childish we looked. I straightened up and walked with William towards our bunker.  The bunker was a nice cozy area where two people could easily fit with plenty of area to keep belongings. Two days from now is when I will start my training with the guns.

December 7th, 1941,
Diary, something real is happening outside of the Harbor. A Japanese submarine was spotted by the US Condor, but the Admiral told us that it couldn’t be the Japanese because the US had an active deal concerning oil supply, but suspicions were confirmed when Japanese fighters were spotted at Opana Mobile Radar Station in Oahu. Sirens wailed across the island and orders were being yelled. William yelled at me telling me to come with him to the Arizona. We all ran towards the Boat. A boom shook the whole island when we were getting into the boat. That was definitely a torpedo by the Japanese submarine. As the sound of sirens and torpedoes shook the very ground we were standing on, we got into the ship. Diary, I may never see you again. I might die here. If I do, I want my family to know that I love them, and I want to tell Mary to keep working hard and become a successful women and a nice wife. I want to tell my parents that I am sorry if I was not the son that they wished I could be.

William Johnson;
This is, I’m afraid, what my friends last wrote in his diary, now I will tell you the rest of the story from my view point. After Louis finished writing, we were both yelled at to get out of the boat before the boat was torpedoed. It was too late, though. A large boom shook the ship and the smell of smoke corroded our nostrils. Louis took his diary and we both ran up the stairs. The exit was blocked by a wall of fire. We backed away and looked for a place to get out from. We took the stair to get lower into the ship. Down there, everything was more quiet. The only people there were us. I started to panic, unable to think of any way to escape. I told Louis that he had been a nice friend and it was good knowing him, but he told me to shut up so he could think of a way out. Finally, Louis walked over and got a large mallet from a table. He walked over to a window big enough to fit a body, and took a swing. The window shattered, and water started pouring in. We were below sea level. The ground below us slowly started to fill up with water. Louis grabbed my arm and told me to try and fit my body through the window. I held my breath and stuck my head under. I went through the window until my mid-section was stuck between the frame. Louis held my legs and pushed as hard as he could, and I got out, looking at Louis through the window. He signaled me to swim up, and I did. The window was about 12 feet under water, and the pressure was wearing against me. I swam as fast as I could to the top and finally came out, gasping for breath. What I saw around me was chaos. Planes with the red Japanese symbol flew overhead dropping bombs the size of small cars. At first I was completely bewildered, but then I remembered Louis was stuck underneath. I looked for something heavy, and a large chunk of the ship came down next to me, and I held onto it holding my breath. It sunk deep beneath the water, and I finally found a circular hole which was the window. I went against the pressure and flow of the water and peeked my head into the window and signaled for Louis to come out. I let go of the debris, and held onto both of his hands, pushing by legs against the boat. Finally he had come out and we both swam for the top. Louis made sure that his diary was preserved in a plastic bag and untouched by the water. We both swam onto land and sped for the bunkers. We got into ours and took our weapons that we had left and our belongings and ran out again. Admiral Glaser could be seen just a few feet away, trying to run from the shots being fired from above. I heard the Admiral screech and jerk forward,  realizing that he had been shot. I looked around to take Louis and run, so I looked back to see where he was, but he wasn’t there. I saw him bolting towards Admiral Glaser who had fallen. Japanese soldiers came from behind the bunkers. Louis signaled me to run, and his eyes told me that he was being serious. I ran towards the hangars and found a fighter that was not destroyed. Turning the engine on, I looked over to see the horizon. A faint speck, which I found to be Admiral Glaser limped hurriedly towards my fighter. He jumped in, and I immediately asked him where Louis was. He slowly shook his head and told me to start the engine. I broke down into tears. All the memories of us being together flooded my mind, as well as all the things we had been through together since we were little kids. Admiral took my arm telling me everything was going to be alright. He told me to sit in the back and cover his wound while we flew low over the ocean to New York City again, where everyone would know about the story of Louis Kennedy, a hero.