"I thought it was the end of the world…"(Video interview, 9:46)

Robert Abbott Coates

Robert Coates in Navy Uniform War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Navy Unit: USS Nevada (BB 36); USS San Francisco (CA 38) Service Location: Pacific Theater; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Rank: Electronics Technician First Class Place of Birth: Carey, ID

For a sailor, your ship is your home. On shore at the time of the attack, seeing the bombs hit the USS Nevada, Robert Coates’ first thought was to return to his home. Following the attack, he was transferred to the USS San Francisco, and went on to be involved in some of the biggest naval battles of the Pacific theater. As he describes it, the shock of attack on December 7th was unrivaled, and was an introduction to the even more intense action that he witnessed later in the war.