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Alfred Rodrigues is one of the many Pearl Harbor Survivors who graciously donate their time to greet and enlighten visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial.

USS Arizona Memorial
Alfred Benjamin Kame'eiamoku Rodrigues

Alfred Rodrigues was born on February 7, 1920 in Kupa’a, Kaua’i in the Territory of Hawai’i. He moved to Honolulu after graduating from Kaua’i High School. While living in Honolulu Mr. Rodrigues worked at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and did a lot of surfing in Waikiki during his time off. He joined the Naval Reserves and was called to active duty for one year in November 1940. In November of 1941, his reserve unit was extended for an indefinite period of time.

Mr. Rodrigues was stationed at the Section Base at Bishop’s Point located in Pearl Harbor. This base was located at the entrance to Pearl Harbor just across the street from Hickam Army Air Field. The purpose of the base was to provide logistics for the small craft that docked alongside the harbor and also to furnish men with supplies to maintain the submarine nets that spanned the entrance to the harbor.

On Sunday morning December 7, 1941, Mr. Rodrigues was on watch duty when he heard about the USS Ward dropping depth charges on an unidentified submarine operating in the defensive zone located about a mile outside of the harbor’s entrance. He was just about to eat breakfast when the general quarters alarm sounded. While everyone raced from the galley to the armory they could see the red “Rising Sun” on the wings of the incoming planes. Within an instant they all knew that the planes were Japanese. Mr. Rodrigues was issued a .30 caliber rifle and started shooting at the planes as they passed overhead. They were low enough that you could actually see the faces of the Japanese pilots. The attack lasted a few hours and then quickly clamed down. Being near Hickam Field, Mr. Rodrigues witnessed Japanese fighter aircraft shooting at American B-17 bombers that were arriving from California. He laughingly recalls, “I never had the opportunity to finish my ham and eggs that morning!”

In 1943, Mr. Rodrigues was transferred to the battleship USS Washington (BB-56) operating in the Pacific area. The USS Washington was the only naval ship that sunk a Japanese battleship, the IMS Kirishima. In early 1945, Mr. Rodrigues was transferred to new construction and eventually assigned to the District Material Redistribution Office located in the Third Naval District in New York City. When the war ended he returned to Hawai’i and joined the Regular Navy. He retired after twenty-four years of military service.

Mr. Rodrigues would later work for the General Services Administration (GSA). He retired as the Manager of the GSA Customer Supply Center located on the Hickam Air Force Base (Hickam Field), Hawai’i after thirty years of service.

Mr. Rodrigues now spends his time playing golf, sharing the yard work with his wife, and volunteering at the USS Arizona Memorial. Mr. Rodrigues has been an active participant in the Pearl Harbor Survivor Series part of the Witness to History videoconferencing program. This series enables students on both a national and international level to learn about the December 7 th attack by directly communicating with Survivors.

For more information about volunteerism and the Take Pride in America visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, visit www.takepride.gov.