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Survivor recalls fear, anger on day of Pearl Harbor attack

In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 photo, Jim Downing, 103, poses in a Navy uniform in Honolulu, with a photo of himself taken when he was about 20 years old. Downing is among a few dozen survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor who plan to gather at the Hawaii naval base Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, to remember those killed 75 years ago. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 photo, Jim Downing, 103, poses in a Navy uniform in Honolulu, with a photo of himself taken when he was about 20 years old. Downing is among a few dozen survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor who plan to gather at the Hawaii naval base Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, to remember those killed 75 years ago. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

By Associated Press 3 min read

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) – 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. And with nowhere to hide, “I was afraid,” he said.

Downing plans to return to Pearl Harbor Wednesday with a few dozen other survivors to mark the 75th anniversary of the attack that plunged the United States into World War II and left more than 2,300 service people dead.