By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
William Ward, Sr. was already serving in the U.S. Navy when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. William “pulled into” the harbor aboard the USS O’Brien on the night of December 6, having no idea that the next day, which would be forever referred to as the “day of infamy” would occur only a few hours later. His day began at 0500 hrs. (5 a.m.), and he was casting off lines when the attack began at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time. The order came to “sortie,” which in that context meant to” get out, now,” and they sped out of the harbor and out of harm’s way. As soon as they could, they turned around, and sailed straight back into a flaming inferno. William had literal nightmares for the rest of his life, and like so many of those who came right up against death so we could be free, he never talked about it. That day the United States lost close to 3500 souls, and the Japanese were sure they had crippled us irreparably. They and Hitler were about to find out just how wrong they were.
William had eight male relatives who also served at the same time as did he. Their names were DeLeon Edward Ward, USN; Clinton Ward, USN; Clinton Ward, USN; George Edward Murray, USN; Bryant Murray, U.S. Army; Royce Poitevint, USN; James Aligood, USAAF; and Frank Sharon, U.S. Army.
William was 19 when his military career began, and after Pearl, the O’Brien sailed to Singapore to rescue Brits. William was wounded and had a most unusual experience that his son, Bill Ward, Jr., wanted me to share. While in Singapore, there was an attending nurse who had striking blue eyes and short blond hair. One night she stood next to William’s bed and said in a firm voice, “Sonny boy, you’re gonna be okay.” He thanked her, and later wanted to thank her again for her strong encouragement. He asked around the hospital as to her name and where he could find her, and everyone looked at him as though he perhaps had suffered head injuries that caused him to not see things correctly. No one had ever seen her on the ward, no one responded to his description of her appearance, and flat out told him that there had never been a nurse on staff that fit that description. He didn’t argue; he just knew that he wasn’t making it up, and went on. Years later, William was in San Diego having his appendix out. She appeared again and said the same thing: “Sonny boy, you are going to be okay.” William told his family about both incidents, and Bill, Jr. himself saw her once. It appears that this angel had a goodly amount of experience guarding the Ward menfolk.
A year after Pearl, William was in Midway and his job was to pick up survivors in the water. There was a man who was in the water, had on a life jacket, but the waves were pressing him down. He was terrified because he could not swim. “God help me, I can’t swim,” he cried out three times. No one knows how it happened, except for the grace of God, but the next thing they knew, the man was in the boat. Once
again, God answered prayer. Now, here’s where it gets really good. Fifty years later, in July of 1992, Bill Jr. and his wife were at a Ward family reunion. Uncle DeLeon was listening to his brother talk about the rescue of the man who couldn’t swim, and said, “I saw that happen.” He went on to tease his brother and say, “You mean you couldn’t stop to pick up your own brother?” There were seven-foot waves, and DeLeon’s own situation was a bit dicey. It was at that point that for the first time Wm. Sr and DeLeon realized that they were actually within 30 feet of each other, and didn’t know it. It was the only time they were near each other the entire war.
The stories go on, and both “Bills” were extras in movies such as The Sands of Iwo Jima, The Fighting Seabees, and Tora! Tora! Tora! Bill, Jr. served in the Air Force in Vietnam; his career spanning 23 years, and he retired as a master sergeant. Before William died, Bill was able to take his dad back to Pearl and to the USS Arizona. William was appropriately honored by those present, and to say it was an emotional event is an understatement. Perhaps some of the “internal wounds” of Dec 7, 1941 were finally healed in that moment.
Bill Jr. wanted to share the stories of his family with you prior to a special event coming up on August 2 at the Alabama Veterans Museum’s monthly Coffee Call. Bill is sponsoring the breakfast that day to honor his family for their service, and will be one of the recipients of a specially designed challenge coin to be given out by Eric Carney of Devoted Health. It is sure to be a wonderful event, and we hope to see you.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
June 20, 2025
