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Chester Mike Kotsmith B.M.2c USN USS West Virginia 1931-1941 |
My grandfather was the Lieutenant Commander at the time of Pearl Harbor. His name was Chester Mike Kotsmith. He passed away August 7, 1998. My whole life, he told us stories of Pearl Harbor. The one that comes
to mind at this time is when the bombing was taking place, he was trying to
get his shipmates offboard. There was one enlisted guy who came to the side of the ship but was afraid to jump overboard. My grandpa asked him if he knew how to swim and the guy said "no". Grandpa told him you're going
to learn Thank you for responding back. I saw the previews for Pearl Harbor the movie almost a year ago and it made me cry then. I know what pain he went through with the memories. He was a member of the Pearl Harbor "USS West Virginia" Survivor group until his death. I truly miss him. Mickey Sincomb |