Exhibit to honor Delaware’s forgotten heroes of Pearl Harbor

More than 100 enlisted men from Delaware were on active duty when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese Dec. 7, 1941.

Their bravery that day, while noted at the time, has long been forgotten.

It was early Sunday morning when the attack on Pearl Harbor began. Pvt. John P. Graham of Rehoboth Beach was asleep when his barracks at Hickam Field were strafed by enemy aircraft. He and one other man survived because they were sleeping flat on their bunks, not sitting or standing.

At Wheeler Field, Lt. George S. Welch from Wilmington ran to his jeep, under fire, drove to the airfield and flew two combat sorties, downing multiple enemy planes.

Radioman First Class Clinton J. Lokey of Laurel, on board the USS Curtiss (AV-4), was credited with sinking one of the Japanese two-man submarines that made it into the harbor and downing as many as six enemy planes.

Boatswain Mate Second Class George Ames Penuel Jr. of Millsboro and Gunner’s Mate First Class Paul Gustavus Gosnell of Wilmington lost their lives defending the USS Shaw (DD-373), which was destroyed in the attack. Both men were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

These stories and others will be brought to life during the year-long Oil Still Bleeds display in the USS Arizona exhibit at the Fort Miles Museum in Lewes. The centerpiece of the exhibit will be a 650-pound relic from the foredeck of the sunken USS Arizona, where more than 1,000 sailors remain entombed.

The exhibit will open this September and run through October 2022. More than 30,000 visitors are expected to attend, and the exhibit will host a series of tours and events to support veterans’ causes in Delaware.

Fort Miles is offering sponsorship opportunities for this exhibit to Delaware businesses. Individuals wishing to make an online gift can search Greater Lewes Foundation and select “Fort Miles USS Arizona” from the donation options.