DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – The U.S.S. Lexington (CV-2) was out on maneuvers when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor Hawaii 80 years ago, on December 7, 1941. That stroke of luck saved William Birch of Decatur.
“My dad sailed out of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 5 at eight o’clock in the morning, less than two days before the attack,” William’s son, Mark Birch, told WAND News. “U.S.S. Lexington aircraft carrier which would have been the number one priority target of the Japanese bombardment.”
The Lexington and two other carriers, the Enterprise (CV-6) and the Saratoga (CV-3), were not at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had hoped to cripple the U.S. Pacific fleet attacking those three carriers. The Enterprise was some 215 miles away.
“They were out doing maneuvers luckily and then they spent the next three days trying to chase the Japanese fleet down but with no success,” Mark Birch said while attending an annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance at Lake Decatur.
