Survivor recalls fear, anger on day of Pearl Harbor attack
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Surprise, fear, anger and pride overcame Jim Downing as Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor.
Then a newlywed sailor, he recalled a Japanese plane flying low and slow in his direction as he rushed to his battleship from his home after hearing explosions and learning of the attack on the radio.
“When he got the right angle, he banked over, turned his machine guns lose,” Downing, now 103, said in an interview at a Waikiki hotel, “But fortunately he didn’t bank far enough so it went right over my head.”
The next aviator might have better aim, Downing remembers thinking.