The USS Utah was a Florida-class battleship launched December 23, 1909. She was the only ship of the US Navy to carry the name Utah. Through most of World War I she was an engineering and gunnery training ship in Chesapeake Bay. In 1941 the USS Utah had been recently refitted and rearmed and was again serving as a training vessel in Pearl Harbor. She was one of the first casualties of the attack on Pearl Harbor; sunk by a torpedo at 8:01 exactly seventy years ago this morning. December 7th, 1941 was a Sunday. Many people think the Japanese chose this particular time and date because the Americans would likely be sleeping in or at least a little less alert. Most of the men onboard the USS Utah escaped with their lives, but six officers and fifty-two crewmen did not. Someday I’d like to take a trip to Honolulu to pay my respects in person.
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