In the above audio clip, Mello Stapleton, United States Army Air Force communication specialist flashes back on the Japanese bombing of Hickam Field’s mess hall and not going to church nor getting breakfast as planned.

To listen to the complete interview click here:
https://wisvetsmuseum.com/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=OH_00168.xml

More on Stapleton:

Mello Stapleton was born on March 10, 1919, in North Lake, Wisconsin. He served in the Army Air Force with the 11th Bomb Group, 431st Bomb Squad during World War II. He was a survivor of Pearl Harbor, flew B-17Es during the Battle of Midway, and conducted bombing runs on Guadalcanal. During the Korean War, Stapleton served with the Air Inspector's Office in Kunsan, Korea. He retired from military service in 1962. He was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8483. Stapleton died on June 29, 2006, in Madison, Wisconsin and is buried at Highland Memory Gardens in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.