Storied tales worth telling

Deepa Bharath

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Gene Verge was a junior navigating

officer who had just completed his watch on deck of the U.S. seaplane

tender Curtiss.

It was about 7:50 a.m., and he was ready to get back to his

quarters and catch up on his sleep. Verge sauntered over to his cabin

and started unbuttoning his uniform when he heard it.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Gunnery practice on a Sunday morning?” he thought. “Give me a

break.”

Verge went back on deck and saw hangars across the harbor on fire.

Soon after that, he saw planes bearing big, red circles on their

sides that labeled them Japanese. Verge couldn’t quite believe it,

but he knew what it meant. About 25 of his shipmates died in the

attack, he said.

The Eastbluff resident and Pearl Harbor survivor will spend

Veterans Day having lunch at American Legion Post 291 in Newport

Beach with others who know the feeling of springing into action as if

it were second nature.

Strangely enough, this is the first time Verge will do something

like that on Veterans Day.

“I think Veterans Day is a great idea,” he said. “For someone like

me, it gives me a chance to meet other veterans and share stories.”

Verge was 22 when he joined the U.S. Navy and shipped out to Pearl

Harbor. He served for five years, including two weeks as skipper of a

ship that transported gasoline.

“I was probably the youngest skipper ever in the Navy at 23,” he

said with a laugh.

After he got out, Verge studied architecture at USC.

“It brings back memories just looking at all this stuff,” he said,

leafing through a book about Pearl Harbor complete with diagrams and

photos of the bombings.

The Curtiss was hit three times and caved easily to the torpedoes

and bombs because it wasn’t designed like a battleship, he said.

“The battleships had a thick armor,” he said. “But the Curtiss was

what’s called a seaplane tender, which means it’s designed to set a

base and house pilots, planes and crew.”

The Japanese attacked with dive-bombers, Verge said.

“A bomb like that went through [our ship] like we were a piece of

cheese,” he said.

It’s hard to explain the feeling of being in the middle of a

battle like that when two-thirds of his ship’s crew had gone ashore

for the weekend, Verge said.

“You’re in shock, and all you can think of is where can I find

enough guys to staff the guns,” he said.

Verge is one of the few remaining Pearl Harbor survivors from the

Curtiss, but Verge said he still meets with those who served on the

ship after Pearl Harbor. They meet for breakfast every month, he

said.

“It so happens that 15 of us live in this area,” he said. “It’s

nice to meet and talk about the old days once in a while.”

A lot of that will happen today at the American Legion Post, said

Commander Randy Eling. The post has been hosting lunch sponsored by

the Sons of the American Legionnaires every year for the last 20

years, he said.

“It’s a time to remember those who’ve died for freedom and

democracy,” he said. “But it’s also a day to give back to those who

are still with us and be thankful for what they’ve done for our

country.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or by e-mail at

[email protected].