Nimitz Arrives At Pearl Harbor - December 25, 1941
By John Greaves

I was privileged to be one of the pilots that flew Adm. Nimitz from San Diego to Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day, 1941, about two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Adm. Nimitz was to relieve Adm. Husband Kimmel and take over the badly wounded Pacific Fleet.

We took off from San Diego in the early evening of 24 Dec in a PB2Y-2, Coronado, BuNo. 1635. The Coronado was a 4 engine seaplane, a big brother of the PBY Catalina.

My log book shows the flight took 17.2 hours and we arrived at Pearl Harbor about mid morning of Christmas day, 1941.

Upon arriving at Pearl, we invited Adm. Nimitz up to the flight deck and asked him if he would like to observe the damage and destruction inflicted by the Japs. He eagerly accepted.

We made wide circles over Pearl Harbor as well as Hickham Field. He was seated in the left hand pilot's seat for purposes of this observation and he just kept shaking his head and clucking his tongue. God knows what was going through his mind but if it was anything like what was going through ours it was: "Those dirty bastards! Somehow, someway, we are going to make them pay!"

We were looking at the West Virginia, the California, the Utah, the Arizona, all crumpled hulks. We were looking at skeletons of what were once hangars and flight lines filled with the junk of what were once military planes. The carnage was sickening.

And with all of this on his mind, what was Adm. Nimitz' demeanor as he disembarked to take on this great responsibility? He took the time to shake the hand of every member of the crew and thank them for a comfortable flight and apologized to each for having taken them from their families on Christmas Day! What a giant of a man. What a great leader to take over the Pacific Fleet!

Why do I write this now? Two reasons: First, because I feel proud that we were able to deliver the right man to the right place at the right time. And second, I said I was one of the pilots on that flight. The others were Lt. Bowen F. McLeod, USNA '30, Ens. Ross C. Barney, Ens. Thomas Robinson, Ens. Frank L. DeLorenzo (all ex-aviation cadets) and Warrant Machinist Clarence L. Pearson. So why DO I write this now? Because of those five, I am the only one still living and I am 84 years old.

Tomorrow might be too late!

March 28, 1999 Frank DeLorenzo,
Captain, U.S. Navy(Ret.)

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