Pearl Harbor "Fired the first shot of the Pacific War" USS WARD SIGNED 4x6 PHOTO

Description: This auction is for a RARE Walter Campion Pearl Harbor Survivor aboard the USS Ward (DD 139) "Fired the first shot of the Pacific War" AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED 4x6 inch photograph autographed. BIO: Walter Campion USS Ward (DD-139) "Fired the first shot of the Pacific War" was the first Navy ship to engage the Japanese during the attack on Pearl Harbor and fired the first shot of the Pacific War when she encountered a Japanese Ko-hyoteki class midget submarine, attacked and sank it.On the morning of December 7 th , 1941 the USS Ward was conducting a precautionary patrol off the entrance to Pearl Harbor when she encountered a Japanese Ko-hyoteki class midget submarine, attacked and sank it, thus firing the first shots of the Pacific War a few hours before Japanese carrier aircraft formally opened the conflict with their attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet inside the harbor. In 1942 the USS Ward was sent to the west coast for conversion to a high speed transport. Redesignated APD-16 in February 1943 she steamed to the South Pacific to operate with U.S. forces in the Solomon Islands area. She helped fight off a heavy Japanese air attack off Tulagi on April 7 th , 1943 and spent most of the rest of that year on escort and transport service. In December she participated in the Cape Gloucester invasion. During the first nine months of 1944 the USS Ward continued her escort and patrol work and also took part in several Southwest Pacific amphibious landings, among them the assaults on Saidor, Nissan Island, Emirau, Aitape, Biak, Cape Sansapor and Morotai.As the Pacific War moved closer to Japan the USS Ward was assigned to assist with operations to recover the Philippine Islands. On October 17 th , 1944 she put troops ashore on Dinagat Island during the opening phase of the Leyte invasion. After spending the rest of October and November escorting ships to and from Leyte in early December the USS Ward transported Army personnel during the landings at Ormoc Bay, Leyte. On the morning of December 7 th , 1944, three years to the day after her Number Three Gun fired the opening shot of the War, she was patrolling off the invasion area when she came under attack by several Japanese aircraft. One bomber made a suicide crash into her hull amidships, bringing the ship to a stop. When the resulting fires could not be controlled, Ward's crew was ordered to abandon ship and she was sunk by gunfire from USS O'Brien (DD-725), whose Commanding Officer, William W. Outerbridge, had been in command of Ward during her action off Pearl Harbor three years before. Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the United States, just before 8:00 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, December 7th, 1941. At the time, the United States was a neutral country in World War II. The attack on Hawaii and other U.S. territories led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the Allies the day following the attack, on December 8, 1941. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI and as Operation Z during its planning. The attack on Pearl Harbor started at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian time (6:18 p.m. GMT). The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft (including fighters, level and dive bombers, and torpedo bombers) in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. Of the 8 United States Navy battleships present, all were damaged and four were sunk. The 8 battleships: USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma (BB-37), USS West Virginia (BB-48), USS California (BB-44), USS Nevada (BB-36), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS Maryland (BB-46). All but USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. More than 180 US aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,393 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded, making it the deadliest event ever recorded in Hawaii. Important base installations, such as the power station, dry dock, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were lost, and 129 servicemen killed. Kazuo Sakamaki, the Commanding Officer of one of the submarines, was captured. Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire later that day (December 8 in Tokyo), but the declarations were not delivered until the following day. The British government declared war on Japan immediately after learning that their territory had also been attacked, while the following day (December 8), the United States Congress declared war on Japan. On December 11, though they had no formal obligation to do so under the Tripartite Pact with Japan, Germany and Italy each declared war on the United States, which responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. The day after the attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous Day of Infamy speech to a Joint Session of Congress, calling for a formal declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. Congress obliged his request less than an hour later. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, even though the Tripartite Pact did not require it. Congress issued a declaration of war against Germany and Italy later that same day. THIS IS AN AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED 4x6 PHOTOGRAPH. I ONLY SELL AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED MEMORABILIA. PLEASE NOTE this 4x6 photograph was printed in the early 2000’s and then personally hand autographed. I do not sell reprints or facsimile autographs. When you bid on my items you will receive the real deal authentic hand autographed items. You will receive the same signed photograph that is pictured in the scan. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. I currently have other rare autographed military and historical signed items available. Please take a look at my other auctions of rare military and historical autographed items.

Price: 59.99 USD

Location: Historical Treasures

End Time: 2024-12-20T16:58:20.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3.5 USD