The following is a word-for-word transcription of Henry Swyers' (Chief Petty Officer, USN 1940-1946) journal entries from December 5, 1941 through December 17, 1941. Swyers was stationed on the USS Patterson, a destroyer assigned to Pearl Harbor in 1941.

12/5/41 ... These Cans don’t rate worth a dam. We have been getting sub contacts in the area with some other cans. They signaled in to the control tower for permission to drop depth charges. No permission granted and they are not our subs. In port P.M.

12/6/41 Had Capt. Inspection and rate liberty. There was such a crowd at the landing. I stayed at the yard recreation joint. The place is a madhouse when the fleet gets in.

12/7/41 Had chow and sacked out. The G.Q. sounded and they called away the Fire and Rescue Party. Headed topside to lower the boat. When I got on top side a Jap plane flew over real low with one of our Cruiser Scout Planes on his tail trying to shoot him down. I didn’t wait to see if he made it. They were cutting the awning off #4 gun. Ford Is. and Battleship Row is a mass of fire and explosions. Headed for my gun station, the #2 gun upper handling room. Met the Exec. Officer heading aft? The fellows on the gun are hollering for ammunition but none is coming up from the lower handling room. Our .50 cal are firing forward. We finally got some ammunition and the boys are using it up. The attack started about 0800. The Henley and The Ralph Talbot are tied up to our port side. We have one boiler partly tore down. The Henley got out about 0830. We had a short lull and took our empty powder cases and threw them over the side. Things don’t look so good from here. The Ralph Talbot got away and we finally got underway. Another raid came over and banging away again. We are tied up to 2 bouys about 2000 yds from Ford Is. Our gun got a direct hit on a plane and Shatz on one of the forward .50 cal got a plane. We had a close bomb hit in the water. Going out of the harbor and passed The Nevada, she is beached along the channel. We went out without the Capt. and some of the crew. The Capt. came out in a whale boat. A can reported sinking a sub in the harbor. The Utah is bottom side up at her dock. The Nevada she beached herself along the channel. She has her bow on land and after end low in the water.

About 1000 and mustered the crew. There are still A.A. bursts over the harbor. Every one standing around not saying much. The Utah was bottom up alongside Ford Is. The clipper landed at Pearl City in all that mess.

About 1200 and have the Detroit, Phoenix and a bunch of cans heading west.

2100 to 2400 we have joined the Enterprise and task force. We have the Enterprise, 4 cruisers and 20 cans. The news don’t sound too good for our side.

12/8/41 Most of our planes were caught on the ground. All wagons sunk or damaged. Heard the Henley got the sub in the harbor. The boys on #4 gun claim a plane. All our ammunition was in the lower handling rooms and I heard they had to saw some locks off to get them open. We are dumping all paint and burnable material over the side. Heard we lost over 2000 men. We should have been a little more alert with sub contacts on the 5th. Somebody screwed up for sure.

12/9/41 Still on patrol and can’t find the Jap fleet. Heard the Cans Cassin and Downs were sunk and the Show blown up. All wagons sunk or damaged and some of our cruisers. They also hit the Marine and Army base with all planes on the ground. How dumb can we get?

12/10/41 Entered Pearl Harbor and had to depth charge our way in. They left the place in a hell of a mess. Ford Is. hanger is gutted and burnt. damaged planes pushed off the air strip. Sure lots of A.A. guns now, sure could have used some on the 7th. The Arizona, California and Utah sunk. The Oklahoma capsized. The Tennessee, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are damaged. The cruisers Helena, Honolulu and Raleigh are damaged. The California and Oklahoma are beached on Ford Is. The West Virginia and The Arizona all under water but the top side. The Shaw had her bow blown off and we lost 2500 men. The Japs were using torpedoes with 8 foot war heads. We took on stores and fuel and unloading all excess gear. The Japs also hit the Phillipines and the Far East. They sunk the Repulse and the Prince of Wales off Singapore.

12/11/41 Removing all excess gear. The carriers came in for fuel and stores. Heard the Antares sighted a sub in the channel on the 7th at 0630 and the Ward sunk it. The net was opened at 0500 to let a ship in and it wasn’t closed. You would have thought they would have alerted the base after sinking that sub. We were getting sub contacts on the 5th and nothing done. Sure a screwy way to operate. The Japs hit Wheeler, Kaneuhe, Hickam and the Marine base at Ewa. they hit Guam, Wake, Midway and Manila.

12/12/41 Still in port stripping ship. Heard the Japs lost a wagon off the Philipines.

12/13/41 Out on patrol and lots of depth charges being dropped.

12/14/41 A sub fired at the Jarvis and missed. We dropped 3 charges and struck oil but no rice and chop sticks.

12/15/41 Joined the Saratoga in the A.M. and entered port. Payday and sent my cabbage home. Can’t spend it around here.

12/16/41 Out on Patrol.

12/17/41 A sub shelled the docks at Kahului and Maui and also Johnson Is. We left with the Saratoga, Enterprise, Tankers, Transports 3 cruisers and 8 cans. Heading for Wake Is. with marines and planes. More depth charges being dropped.