Background on the USS Oklahoma

USS Oklahoma

The USS Oklahoma BB-37 was a Nevada class battleship that was launched on March 23, 1914.  From December 6, 1940, the Oklahoma was based at Pearl Harbor.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor while the Oklahoma was moored in Battleship Row.  Almost immediately, the Oklahoma took 3 torpedo hits and began to capsize when 2 more torpedoes struck.  Within 20 minutes, she had swung over until halted by her masts touching bottom with her starboard side above water.

An Oklahoma survivor recalls that one of the torpedoes that struck the Oklahoma was much more violent than others that hit the warship, and researchers may have found the answers to explain why.

Exciting New Discoveries

New findings revealed by the “NOVA” television series on PBS indicate the Japanese successfully attacked Pearl Harbor from under water, as well as from the air.

Recently University of Hawaii researchers helped identify the wreckage of a Japanese midget submarine a few miles outside of Pearl Harbor that was used in underwater attacks at Pearl Harbor.

It is claimed that before the December 7, 1941 attack, five Japanese “mother” submarines, each carrying an 80 foot, two-man, midget submarine came within a few miles of Pearl Harbor.  The midget submarines were twice as fast as the U.S. submarines of the time and were able to carry two torpedoes.

Parks Stephenson who is the lead investigator of an expedition for the PBS science series that explored the wreckage of the submarine reported that, based on eyewitness accounts, a congressional report by Admiral Chester Nimitz and other clues, a midget submarine fired two torpedoes and claimed success in a radio call to the Japanese high command 12 hours after the attack.  Stephenson believes that a torpedo fired from a midget submarine may have hit the USS Oklahoma.

New evidence and underwater footage of the Japanese submarine will be presented by NOVA in a documentary that will broadcast on January 5, 2010 on KHET-PBS called “Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor.”

Asbestos Use on USS Oklahoma

Literally tons of asbestos were used in constructing US Navy Battleships.  According to the Navy’s insulation schedules, battleships contained over 450 tons of thermal insulation.  By weight, over 85% of this thermal insulation contained asbestos.

Galiher DeRobertis Ono has represented many men who served on the Oklahoma or worked on the Oklahoma during repairs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.  Although they did not realize the danger at the time, our clients were exposed to deadly asbestos dust.  Thousands of the Oklahoma veterans and shipyard workers were put at risk for asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma as a result of the toxic asbestos on board.

Pearl Harbor (Oct 1941)

On December 7, 1941, our asbestos client  Samuel Lum was an apprentice shipfitter learning to do structural repairs on ships.  Since it was Sunday, the 21 year old Lum slept in and awoke to his neighbors making a racket.  He looked toward town and saw puffs of smoke, so he turned on the family’s radio and quickly learned that Pearl Harbor had been attacked.

By noon, radio announcements were instructing all shipyard workers to report to work.  Mr. Lum recalls dutifully arriving at Pearl Harbor amid firing still going on and enemy aircraft flying around.  Today at age 89, Lum vividly recounts seeing the USS Arizona smoking and listing as it was about to sink. Other ships were burning, and Lum witnessed a ship being hit by torpedo.  In the shop where Lum was assigned to work, he could still hear bursts of machine gun fire throughout the day.

Because of the extensive damage to the ships in port and the stepped up war efforts, Pearl Harbor became a strategic location for ship repair and overhaul during World War II.  Samuel Lum continued his work as a ship fitter and was exposed to asbestos insulating products as he carried out his work.   Lum remembers, “Asbestos was an excellent insulating material.  We had no way of knowing that it was disastrous to the human body.”  But Lum and hundreds of others who worked at Pearl Harbor Shipyard were exposed to this deadly material as they supported the war effort and worked on many classes of Navy ships.

The 68th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

This is the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, “the date which will live in infamy,” as President Roosevelt declared to Congress in 1941.  Today we celebrate the heroes of that day, the U.S. Navy sailors, Marines and Army soldiers at Pearl Harbor Naval Air Station, Hickam Air Force Base, and Schofield Barracks who were the direct target of the Japanese Imperial Navy assault.  Activities taking place at Pearl Harbor on Monday, December 7, 2009 include a joint memorial service at Naval Station Pearl Harbor’s Kilo Pier from 7:40 to 9:30  a.m.  At 7:55 a.m. at the exact moment  the Japanese attack began 68 years ago,  a moment of silence will be observed.  USS Lake Erie (CG 70) will render honors to the USS Arizona and military aircraft will fly over the memorial.

But the unsung heroes were the civilian Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers.  They were not only called to work on that fateful Sunday to rescue the damaged ships, but also to work for years after to help rebuild the US Navy for the war effort.  This work exposed them on a daily basis to dangerous asbestos dust and put them at risk for mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos related diseases.

Galiher DeRobertis Ono has represented sailors who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and shipyard workers who were strafed by the enemy planes either at Pearl Harbor or on their way to the shipyard.  We have also represented shipyard workers who continued these efforts to build the U.S. Navy and protect our country.

On this 68th anniversary commemorating Pearl Harbor Day, Galiher DeRobertis Ono salutes and honors all Navy veterans and civilian shipyard workers who gave their all to protect our country and our people.  Gary Galiher expressed his appreciation, “Our firm has been honored to represent these brave veterans and shipyard workers.  Each has made a significant sacrifice and contribution to our country.”

Recently, Galiher DeRobertis Ono had the privilege of talking with Dr. Giovanni Gaudino about his work at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii (CRCH).  He shared his thoughts with attorney Gary Galiher on the importance of his research, clinical trials, and collaboration among scientists.  He also discussed the multidisciplinary approach in working towards a cure.  The interview appears as a series on our website.

A biochemist and molecular biologist, Dr. Gaudino came from Italy as a visiting scholar to join world-renowned mesothelioma researcher Dr. Michele Carbone and his team of scientists at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii (CRCH).

According to Dr. Gaudino,

“Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer strictly associated with asbestos fiber exposure.  Basically, this is the main cause of this disease . . . .  Unfortunately, the worst part of this cancer is that it is very resistant to common conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy.”

Asbestos fibers are the main cause of malignant mesothelioma.  Asbestos is a fibrous mineral (magnesium and calcium silicate) used in insulation and fireproofing because it is not affected by heat or minerals and does not conduct electricity.  Asbestos has been used from ancient times.  It has variously been called lithios amiantos,  the “undefiled rock”;  linum vivum, the “living cloth”; and it was the “unquenchable” wick of the perpetual flame lit for the goddess Athena.

There are two major types of asbestos fiber – fibrous serpentine and fibrous amphiboles.  Chrysotile (white asbestos) is the only commercial form of asbestos in the serpentine group.   It comes mainly from Canada and was used in the United States.  The most common forms of amphibole asbestos are amosite (brown asbestos) and crocidolite (blue asbestos), originally found in South Africa and later in Russia.  Less common forms of amphibole asbestos are tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite.

All of these fibers enter the lungs through breathing and from the lungs they reach the pleura, the thin membrane covering the lungs and lining the chest cavity.  These fibers cause chronic inflammation by means of what are called “inflammatory cytokines,” which enable the fibers to damage the DNA.  Normal cells are transformed into mesothelioma cells by a process called “cell survival.”  In other words, instead of dying, as they are supposed to, the damaged cells survive and they transform into tumor cells.

Mesothelioma is a very aggressive, invasive tumor of the mesothelial serosal pleural lining.  However, it can also develop in the similar linings found around the heart (pericardium) and the abdominal cavity (peritoneum).  Unfortunately, malignant mesothelioma is very resistant to chemotherapy and to radiation therapy, and the medium survival for patients has been 12 to 18 months.