CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
NAVY YARD BROADCAST FROM PEARL HARBOR: Part 3
This is the third of four parts of a radio broadcast aired from Pearl Harbor, March 18, 1942. The first part, an interview with Albert Briskay, a civilian worker dealing with submarine repair, was posted on December 7, 2009. The final part will be posted March 18, 2011. Links to previous and following posts are listed at the end of this post.
To view photo illustration,click on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carolyncholland/3899210556/in/photostream/
WAHL: You know, Captain Swain, I was just thinking, in the days of King Kamehameha, the harbor here must have been surrounded by tropical jungle and rolling fields of sugar cane. This world-famous drydock, for instance, the site of our broadcast, is a far cry from Hawaii of half a century ago!
SWAIN: As a matter of fact, Jim, this isn’t the original drydock. The first one started in 1909. The floor under the graving dock was of volcanic rock and coral, and after four years of hard work and plenty of sweat in building it, it collapsed before it was used. That was really the first Pearl Harbor tragedy. Francis Smith—“Drydock” Smith they called him—was the engineer in charge…one of the best in the country. The dock and cofferdam were built, the water pumped out, and the bottom deepened. But, the bottom wasn’t stapled (illegible word) (crossed off: would rise or fall, depending on how much water was pumped). So, they drove concrete piling into the bottom of the harbor. Everything appeared alright, but suddenly one day the crib timbers cracked, the concrete blocks on the bottom were forced up and the cofferdam, built to hold back the sea, collapsed.
WAHL: Yes, and the old Hawaiians said it was all because the (more…)
