FLOOD OF MEMORIES
RCHIE PARMELEE KELLEY was fresh out of naval training at 23 years old and aboard the USS on the morning of December 7, 1941, when Japanese torpedoes began slamming into the battleship, shaking it violently with each strike. As torpedo after torpedo hit—seven in all, along with two bombs—Ensign Kelley rushed to close the watertight doors below deck, where water was flooding in, and to counterflood the ship to prevent it from capsizing—a quick action that may have saved hundreds of lives. But it also required a move that cost other lives. At 101 years old, he’s long since reconciled with that decision—though the events of
