Photographer's Mates at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Both the station photo lab and Fleet Photo Lab were closed Sunday morning.  When Chief Photographer Earl Sever got to the photo lab it was locked and he kicked the door open.  He handed out cameras to the photographers who had run to duty.  The only good fortune that morning was that all the cameras were loaded with film and ready to go.  More cameras were loaded and other photographers were on station making the historic pictures.  One intrepid photographer convinced a coxswain to take a boat out into the harbor as the bombs and bullets fell all around, so this Photographer's Mate could photograph the attack from a different angle.

Later on that "day of infamy," as Chief Severs was supervising the processing of all the film, a flag officer of Admiral Kimmel, Commander in Chief US Pacific Fleet, arrived at the photo lab and ordered that he be given all pictures and negatives.  The pictures were then classified as SECRET and wouldn't be seen by the American public for a year for fear that the American public would be horrified by the death and destruction caused on that otherwise quiet Sunday morning.

click here to see the photographs made by the courageous US Navy Photographer's Mates as the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Former Photographer's Mate Recipient of Medal of Honor

"I was covering the ground breaking for the USS Oklahoma Memorial and I asked Medal of honor winner John Finn for a photo. As I was walking away he asked me were I worked and I said the photo lab. Instantly he smiled and proceeded to tell me a story about how he was a Photographers mate (actually rated) for one year."

PHC (AW/SW) Donald Bray Chief Petty Officer in Charge Fleet Public Affairs Center, Hawaii

In 1941, Finn was stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Territory of Hawaii with VP-41 squadron.  On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he left his quarters and manned a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in an exposed section of a parking ramp.

During the 15-minute ordeal (which he said felt like hours), he fired upon the enemy and reports indicated he had single-handedly shot down one Japanese aircraft killing the pilot.

A somewhat modest man, Finn believes the downing was the collective actions of all the men that morning, but because his gun was under heavy enemy machine gun fire and he was severely wounded, he received the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest medal.

Although Finn sustained approximately 21 wound marks throughout his body, he didn't think he was seriously wounded.

"There was shrapnel in my chest and abdomen and I spent 14 days in sick bay," he told Hoist. Nine months later, Adm. Chester Nimitz awarded Finn his Medal of Honor in ceremonies on board USS Enterprise and said "Finn's magnificent courage in the face of almost certain death helped repel the Japanese attack ... His complete disregard for his own life, in staying with his machine gun, although many times wounded, is the kind of American fighting spirit necessary to victory."

US Navy Photographers Mates record
the turning-point of the Pacific War-the Battle of Midway
Makes the photographs and then saves the negatives as the USS Yorktown sinks

 The Japanese fighter plane flew down the length of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown CV 5, strafing the flight deck and wounding a chief petty officer standing near the captain.  All the while, Photographer's Mate William Roy kept filming the epic battle of the Coral Sea.   Roy survived the bombs, torpedoes and bullets during the Coral Sea battle to take part in the Battle of Midway, in which the USS Yorktown CV5 was sunk. 

  During the memorable Coral Sea battle, Roy said he was stationed on the bridge near the captain, Elliott Buckmaster, as Buckmaster directed high-speed maneuvers to avoid enemy bombs and torpedoes.  "He avoided eight torpedoes. It was just amazing," Roy said. Then luck ran out.

  "We took a direct hit by a bomb that penetrated the flight deck to the fourth level and killed 84 of the crew," he said.

  Soon after the fighter plane strafed the ship, Roy said he saw a torpedo plane flying parallel to the port, (left) side of the Yorktown.  "When I'm filming him, the pilot raised his right fist and shook it just before the plane exploded," Roy recalled.

  The Yorktown was swiftly repaired and sent out to meet the Japanese fleet and planes at Midway.  There, the large ship was sunk.  She was struck by bombs and torpedoes, listed severely to the port side and finally "went to the bottom, like a Lady". Roy photographed the action from the flight deck with anti-aircraft guns blazing in the background.  "We lost power. There was no way to communicate. By word of mouth we got the message to abandon ship," Roy said.  The ship's death knell came when a Japanese submarine fired four torpedoes. Two hit the Yorktown. One hit the destroyer Hammond, sinking it.  When the final torpedo hit, "I was knocked over into a bulkhead. Some Yorktown sailors were blown overboard. Sailors were thrown in every direction. I got up and made 3 sequential photos of the Hammann's stern going back and down with sailors." clinging on. Jumping into the water into a thick slick of oil from the dying ship, "I was choking and throwing up," he said. "I damn near drowned." 

Photographer's Mate Roy was on the destroyer with Captain Buckmaster and the Captain asked the destroyer's skipper to take him through the debris field.  The only thing left of the mighty USS Yorktown was wood, trash and clothes... no more sailors.   "Everyone on the destroyer was crying, including our skipper."  One crusty Chief whimpered, "She's gone...they sunk the Yorkie!"

  "I had used up all the film in the 4 X 5 Speed Graphic camera film pack. I used a K-20 aerial camera that did have film to record the last photos of the Yorktown."

  Roy received no Official personal credit for photographs and film he shot of the Coral Sea and Midway battles. They are listed as "Official U.S. Navy Photographs" in the National Archives of the United States.

USS Hammann (DD 412) swiftly sinking as seen from USS Yorktown CV 5 before the Yorktown also went down. 
Official US Navy Photograph By PhoM2 Roy

Printed on back of this picture:

LAST FLIGHT FOR NAVY PHOTOGRAPHER--

FOR THE LAST TIME PHOTOGRAPHER'S MATE FIRST CLASS PAUL T. BARNETT OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, BOARDS A GRUMMAN AVENGER TO TAKE AERIAL PICTURES OF A RAID--THE STRIKE AT RABAUL ON NOVEMBER 5, 1943.

WHEN THE PLANE RETURNED, BADLY-SHOT UP FROM A FIGHT WITH A JAPANESE ZERO, BARNETT WAS LIFTED FROM THE COCKPIT, DEAD.

 BEFORE HE WAS KILLED, THE GIFTED AND INTREPID YOUNG CAMERAMAN HAD MADE A NUMBER OF STRIKING PICTURES OF THE EARLY ACTION IN THE RAID--THE LAST BEING OF THE ZERO WHICH KILLED HIM, HEADING STRAIGHT AT HIS PLANE.

There were no Photographers Mates until 1943, as there were no Warrant Photographers until 1943. We were all Photographers 3/C, or 2/C, or 1/C, or Chief Photographer

Keep the Photographer's Mate rate alive. Remember and Honor your service to the US Navy. Join the National Association of Naval Photography  Click here Read the eyewitness report from Naval Aviator George Gay who saw the entire battle of Midway- about the turning point of the war as the US Navy sunk 4 Japanese aircraft carriers but lost the USS Yorktown CV5 click here

See the greatest pictures of the "new" Navy Photographers, post your favorite pictures of Navy Photography and discuss with your old photographer shipmates click here Do you have an addition to tribute to Photographer's Mates? Send an email to Photographer's Mate Daniel Bernath ussyorktowncvs10@juno.com The Photographer's Mate rating badge changes and the US Navy counts on the Photographer's Mates.