Alfred Hinton – Pearl Harbor Survivor Passes Away

By Scott Wheeler

Al Hinton of Claremont, New Hampshire survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, but on the morning of Thursday, December 3, he lost his battle to another enemy – time. Hinton left no doubt in the minds of anybody he met that he loved his country, and he cherished the years that he served his country. He is seen in this photo (seated) in front of the portion of the World War II monument dedicated to the attack on Pearl Harbor with fellow veteran, Harvey Robitaille of Newport. Photo by Scott Wheeler

“An old soldier has passed away,” Rose Mary Hinton said Thursday morning. The soldier she was talking about was her husband, Al Hinton of Claremont, New Hampshire. Mr. Hinton, who spent most of his life in Orleans County, died that morning at 86 years old. He was one of a dying number of Pearl Harbor survivors.
The following is portion of an article that I wrote following an interview with Mr. Hinton on September 12, 2001, a day after terrorists struck on U.S. soil.

A Day that will Live in Infamy

Resting following an early morning breakfast, a young Al Hinton was rocked by an enormous explosion. Sprinting outside, he saw the airplane that had caused the explosion and instantly knew America was at war and fate had put him in the first battle line of America’s first battle of World War II.

It was December 7, 1941, the day that the Japanese Air Force launched a sneak attack on the American Pacific Naval Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack catapulted America into an already raging WWII—a war that would eventually claim the lives of millions, including the lives of more than 200,000 Americans, and a large number from right here in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

On the sixth anniversary of the attack, many veterans, including Hinton, say they feel honored that they helped bring harmony to a world that seemingly had gone insane. Yet, their feelings have been tempered by a sense of déjà vu in the wake of the recent attacks on America’s homeland.

“This isn’t Pearl Harbor—it’s worse,” Hinton said on September 12 as he watched, and re-watched news accounts of the two airliners slamming into the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and yet another into a Pennsylvania field.

America must seek out and hold those involved in these terrorist attacks responsible for their actions, Hinton said. The aging veteran, who has been very active over the years in veterans’ affairs, leaves little doubt in anybody’s mind that if he were a younger man he’d be one of the first in line at a military recruitment office.

The airplane that Hinton saw zoom past his barracks shortly before 8 a.m. was that of a Japanese Zero, easily recognizable by the fiery red ball, the symbol of Japan, emblazoned on the plane. Mr. Hinton was stationed at Fort Kamehameha on the island of Oahu.
When the attack was over, 2,402 Americans lay dead or dying while another 1,178 were injured. Included in the list of dead were a number of Hinton’s friends as well as a cousin.
“The reason we formed the Pearl Harbor Association is because we want to keep alive the memory and the potential of a sneak attack,” Hinton said. “It could happen any time and at any minute—and it just did.”

Japan’s attack killed 2,402 servicemen while an estimated 3,000 people, mostly civilians, died in the terrorist attacks in September 2001.
“I know in my mind what the people of New York are feeling,” Hinton said.
He was so angry at the Japanese attack, he said, he tried to convince his superiors to allow him to join other American troops in the battles against the Japanese in the Pacific Theater following America’s declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941. That never happened. While thousands of other American servicemen fought and died in land, air, and sea battles against enemy forces, Hinton remained in Hawaii for the rest of his military career, a career that came to an end in 1945. He never saw action following Pearl Harbor.

Born in Lyndonville, Vermont, in 1921, but raised in Charleston, Vermont, Hinton grew up during the throes of the Great Depression.
“You couldn’t even find a job,” he said. “You couldn’t even work for nothing, so I joined the Army.”
Hinton and about a dozen of his friends decided to join the military because it guaranteed them a paycheck.
Following enlistment, most of the friends went their separate ways. Hinton and at least three other Orleans County men were eventually stationed on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Hinton was assigned to the Army’s Fifteenth Quartermaster Transportation Corps, at Fort Kamehameha where he operated the base’s motor pool. The base was located at the entrance of Pearl Harbor. He was stationed on what many people believed was the most beautiful American military base.

Tensions between the U.S. and Japan began to rise in late 1941 after Japan agreed to support Germany in its efforts to conquer Europe. Japanese officers were also troubled by America’s embargo on their country. Military bases in Hawaii went on high alert in late November of that year, Hinton said. That meant there was a possibility of attack. However, Hinton said it never crossed his mind that the country was on the verge of war. Tensions in Hawaii eased on Friday, December 5, two days before the attack at Pearl Harbor, Hinton said. Troop alertness was reduced to normal.
The morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 started out like any other Sunday morning, Hinton said. He recalled that he and a friend ate breakfast earlier than usual while many other servicemen slept in late. After breakfast the pair went back to their barracks to relax. Hinton was lying on his bunk reading the newspaper when he heard the explosion. At first, he said, he thought the barracks’ stove had malfunctioned and blown up. Realizing it had not, he ran outside. That’s when he saw the Japanese airplane.

Being a Sunday, the attack caught many servicemen asleep in bed, Hinton said. They didn’t have a chance. Japanese bombers and kamikazes wreaked havoc on the Pacific fleet, and 188 of the 394 airplanes in the region were destroyed and 159 others were damaged.
“America wasn’t prepared,” Hinton insisted. Many of the anti-aircraft guns that had arrived on the island a few weeks earlier hadn’t even been fired before the attack. During that two-hour battle, one of the most horrific sights he saw that day was the explosion of the USS Arizona—an explosion that sent 1,102 American servicemen to a watery grave.
American forces took a horrible beating during the Japanese two-pronged attack, Hinton said. The first wave, which involved 183 planes, made its appearance shortly before 8 a.m. and caused the greatest destruction. The second wave of 167 Japanese planes didn’t have it as easy. Awaked from their slumber, America’s military forces were now armed and ready to battle their foes. To the best of his memory, Hinton said, American forces downed more than 30 Japanese planes, most of them during the second wave.

Life was far from normal after the airplanes had disappeared into the horizon, leaving the Pacific fleet in ruins, Hinton said. American forces stationed on the island feared that a third wave of planes was on the way. The third wave never came.
In a tone of disgust, Hinton remembered the most painful hours of his military career—recovering the remains of his comrades. “Sometimes you got an arm, sometimes you got a head,” he said. “I was sick for a week.”
The aging veteran has a piece of advice for American people following the terrorist attacks—do the same thing most Americans did after Pearl Harbor. Stand behind your country and its troops.

An inscription that appears upon the WW II monument
recognizing the attack on Pearl Harbor

When asked whether he’d want one of his grandchildren called to war to avenge the terrorist attacks, Hinton thought for a minute and said, “If it was necessary for the country, yes, they should be able to carry on. Somebody in my family has been in every war this country has ever had except for Vietnam.”