Pearl Harbor survivor travels country at age 103
Lt. Jim Downing’s tour to promote his book, “The Other Side of Infamy” had already taken him to half a dozen states by the time he visited Oklahoma. Not bad for a man of 103. Downing witnessed the horrors of the surprise strike on the American naval fleet on Dec. 7, 1941.
He is the second-oldest survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, which killed more than 2,000 Americans and led to the U.S. entry into World War II.
When the Japanese attack started, Downing was on base in married quarters. He was 28 and had been married to his wife, Morena, for only a matter of months. Their union lasted 68 years until her death.
In 1941, he was a gunner’s mate first class and ship’s postmaster on the USS West Virginia. When the attack began, he heard explosions but thought it was the U.S. Army testing weapons.
When a shell exploded in the backyard a few minutes later, he knew something was amiss.
All sailors and military personnel were ordered back to their ships or stations.
Downing made the hectic drive to the harbor. A plane swooped down near him, and he saw the rising sun on its wing.
“Before that we were told the Japanese couldn’t launch such an attack on us, and if they did, we would wipe them out in three months,” he said.
At Pearl Harbor he encountered thick black smoke and no clear way to get to his ship. But he found a path.
He jumped on the USS Tennessee and slid down its gun barrel and landed on the deck of the USS West Virginia. He grabbed a hose to put out fires that would have made their way to the ship’s munitions and caused even more explosions.
When he saw the bodies of shipmates, he went to their dog tags and memorized their names. He would write to their parents.
“At that time they only sent a standardized letter,” he said. “I thought they deserved more.”
Later he went to the hospital and took notes from burned sailors. Many died, and he sent the notes to their parents.
The attack was frightening, but it also made him angry.
“I was mad at politicians and military leaders for not seeing this,” he said.
But he was proud of the way the sailors and others handled the situation. He considers it an obligation to the fallen to tell his story.
Sharing his story
He used a Powerpoint presentation during his appearance last month at the University of Oklahoma. He had a message for the students, one he borrowed from President Ronald Reagan.
“We have peace through strength, and weakness invites aggression,” he said.
He said an overlooked fact about Dec. 7, 1941, is that Pearl Harbor was one of eight attacks conducted by Japan that day.
“They used 360 planes on us in Pearl Harbor,” he said. “They used 500 on the Philippines.”
His book has been out since November. He wrote it for his family, but the publisher decided it deserved wider distribution. So far he’s sold thousands of copies.
The Colorado Springs native stayed in the Navy until 1956. In 1943 he was assigned to Washington, D.C., to teach about weapons systems.
In 1954 he was captain of a Navy vessel, Patapsco, that helped test the H-Bomb. Although the ship was 200 miles away, the bomb was more than twice as strong as officials predicted. Later it was determined the crew had received the equivalent of 470 dental X-rays.
Downing has had a few celebrity moments in connection with his military service.
President Barack Obama mentioned him by name during the observance of the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in December. House Speaker Paul Ryan asked to have his photo taken with him, as did entertainer Garth Brooks and family. As for his secret to living to be 103, he has a theory.
“It has a lot to do with who your grandparents were and their genes,” he said.
On his 100th birthday, U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, from Colorado, honored him in the U.S. House, noting Downing had “loyally served the U.S. Navy, was a devoted husband and father and faithful to his Creator.”