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"The W. Va. is shown as she was photographed at a dry dock in Pearl Harbor. The battleship was severely damaged in the Japanese raid Dec. 7, 1941. Damages to her sides are visible."

1. U.S.S. West Virginia in Dry Dock, Pearl Harbor, Hi.

U.S.S. West Virginia in dry dock, likely in Newport News, Va. during construction.  The keel was laid down in April 1920, and the ship was launched in November 1921.

2. U.S.S. West Virginia in Dry Dock

3. Aerial View of U.S.S. West Virginia

U.S.S. West Virginia (BB-48) anchored in an unidentified location.

4. U.S.S. West Virginia

"The guns of U.S.S. West Virginia (BB-48) in operation.  L.C.M.'s in foreground."  L.C.M. stands for Landing Craft Mechanized.

5. United States Fleet off Leyte, Philippines

L to R: Jack Miller, Frank Kosa, Clifford Olds.Olds and 2 other crew members , Ronald Endicott and Louis Costin were trapped in a sealed compartment in the West Virginia's bow after it sank on December 7th.  Any rescue attempt meant certain death. The 3 stayed alive until December 24th according to a marked calendar found with their bodies which were recovered after the ship was raised from the harbor bottom in May, 1942.

6. U.S.S. West Virginia Sailors Hoist Their Glasses at Monkey Bar, Pearl Harbor, HI

Captain Bennion was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. As  he laid mortally wounded on the West Virginia's command bridge, Bennion refused to be removed from his burning ship. He continued to give orders, directing his crew's actions. Bennion's last order to his men before he died was to leave him and "abandon ship." Captain Bennion was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

7. USN Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, U.S.S. West Virginia

Miller was a member of the U.S.S. West Virginia as a Messman Third Class during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was awarded the Navy Cross--the third highest navy award for gallantry during combat--for "distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack. Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain who had been mortally wounded to a place of greater safety and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge."Miller was personally awarded the medal by Admiral Chester Nimitz. He was the first African-American to be awarded the honor.

8. Doris Miller Awarded Navy Cross, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Smoke billows from the U.S.S. West Virginia, which is pictured in the back and center of the photograph. The ship eventually sank.Floating on the left is the U.S.S. Maryland. On the right is a capsized U.S.S. Oklahoma.

9. Damaged Battleships following Japanese Attack, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Smoke rises from the sinking battleship, which was hit by seven torpedoes and two bombs.

10. Damaged U.S.S. West Virginia after Japanese Attack, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

An official U.S. Navy photograph. From left to right is the U.S.S. West Virginia, U.S.S. Tennessee, and the U.S.S. Arizona.

11. Burning and Damaged Ships After Japanese Attack, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

The photograph was taken at the beginning of the attack. The explosion seen in the center of the photograph is a torpedo that struck the U.S.S. West Virginia.

12. Aerial Photograph taken from Japanese Plane during Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii