By Ken Raymond
Staff Writer
One moment, Ardill G. "Art" Wright Jr. was sipping coffee on the main deck of the USS Raleigh. The next, he was flying through the air.
"We were just talking and got surprised," said Wright, an Atoka native who lives in Kent, Wash. "There wasn't any warning at all."
Wright, a petty officer 3rd class working as a baker, scrambled topside to find out what was going on, but retreated when he heard bombs and gunfire erupting across Pearl Harbor.
The Raleigh, a light cruiser, had been struck by a Japanese torpedo, the force ripping a hole in the side of the ship about 8 feet in diameter. Wright raced aft to get to his battle station, watching in disbelief as the battleship Utah capsized after an enemy torpedo hit it.
"It just went right over," Wright said. "It was gone in like five minutes, I think. It's something that you never forget, and you think about all the fellas, young guys, who never did have a life after that."
Wright didn't have time to focus on the Utah, though. A dive bomber sent a bomb crashing through three decks and the Raleigh's hull, detonating below the surface.
"I don't know how many near misses there were," Wright said. "That ship was like a fish trying to come out of the water. You know how it wiggles all over? That's how that ship was."
Later, Wright and two of his crewmates went over to the capsized Utah to cut a hole in the keel so a trapped crewman could escape. Wright scanned the sky for Japanese planes, fearful they'd return for another run on the ship.
Even now, 65 years later, Wright often thinks about that terrible day. His life has moved on — he left the military, has three sons and nine grandchildren and mourns the wife he lost three years ago. The main baseball field in Kent is named after him: Art Wright Field.
He's got so much else to think about — but Pearl Harbor always is there.
"I knew that I would never die from fright," he said, "because if I was going to die from fright, I would've died that day."
