On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor attack, inflicting devastating losses and drawing the United States fully into World War II. Nearly 2,400 Americans were killed in the assault, and among the casualties were three servicemen whose individual stories have largely been overshadowed by the scale of the event, despite the important roles they were carrying out during the chaos.
Each man was aboard a ship in the midst of the attack, performing his duties as bombs fell, fires spread, and enemy aircraft filled the skies. Their efforts received little attention in the immediate aftermath, as the magnitude of the disaster dominated public focus. Nonetheless, their actions reflected genuine courage and commitment under extreme conditions.
Although Pearl Harbor is remembered as a turning point in American history, it was also made up of countless individual acts of duty and sacrifice. These three servicemen stand as part of that broader legacy—representing the ordinary sailors and soldiers whose resolve, often unseen, contributed to the larger story of the day.
The USS West Virginia was on fire for 30 minutes before sinking
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USS West Virginia was positioned outboard of the USS Tennessee as part of Battleship Row, along with the USS Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Maryland and Oklahoma. A repair vessel, the USS Vestal, was also moored beside the Arizona.
The USS West Virginia was hit by two overhead bombs and at least six torpedoes during the attack. Immediately after, officers aboard the ship called a “setting condition Zed,” a naval technique wherein all hatch compartments are closed and a portion of the ship flooded to keep it from capsizing.
It was ablaze for 30 hours before sinking and settling along the bottom of the harbor, 40 feet below the water. According to the National Park Service, 106 crew members were killed.
A banging sound was heard inside the ship
The following day, those who’d survived the attack began cleanup efforts, during which they heard a banging noise coming from the USS West Virginia. At first, they thought it was a piece of loose rigging hitting the hull. However, they soon realized they were hearing the sounds of those trapped inside the wreckage.
“When it was quiet you could hear it… bang, bang, then stop. Then bang, bang, pause. At first, I thought it was a loose piece of rigging slapping against the hull. Then I realized men were making that sound – taking turns making noise,” said bugler Dick Fiske.
It was impossible to rescue the men
The weak, desperate sounds coming from inside the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48) served as a heartbreaking sign that sailors remained trapped beneath the decks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rescue crews faced an impossible choice: breaching the ship’s heavy steel hull could have caused massive flooding, while cutting with torches risked igniting fuel and setting off additional explosions. With no safe way to reach them, the men inside could not be rescued before it was too late.
When salvage operations eventually lifted the battleship from the harbor months later, workers made a tragic discovery. Inside storeroom A-111 were the remains of three young sailors—18-year-old Ronald Endicott of Washington, 21-year-old Louis “Buddy” Costin of Indiana, and 20-year-old Clifford Olds of North Dakota—who had stayed together until the end. Their final resting place became a solemn reminder of the dangers endured during the attack and the terrible human toll of December 7, 1941.
The Navy never told their families what happened
Flashlight batteries, a manhole for fresh water, and leftover emergency rations were also found. A calendar was discovered with sixteen days crossed off in red pencil, from December 7 to December 23. This revealed that the three men had survived in the wreckage for over two weeks without any way to escape.
News of the discovery spread quickly through Pearl Harbor, but the Navy never informed the men’s families about how long they had remained alive. It wasn’t until decades later, in 1995, that their loved ones finally learned the truth when journalist Eric Gregory wrote a piece about the attack in the Honolulu Advertiser.
All three headstones say they died on the day of the attack
Following its discovery, the calendar was sent to the chief of naval personnel in Washington, D.C., and its current location is unknown. Following their recovery, Endicott and Costin were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific – known as the “Punchbowl” – in Honolulu. Olds’ remains were returned to his hometown and buried in the local cemetery.
All three of their headstones say they died on December 7, 1941, the day of the attack.
Following it being raised, the USS West Virginia was repaired. When it was returned to service in April 1944, it played a key role in the US forces’ efforts against Japan, and was present at Tokyo Bay during the Japanese surrender. It was decommissioned in 1957 and sold for scrapping two years later.