Pass the Ammunition
On December 7, 1941, the USS New Orleans was moored along Berth 16 at the Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, undergoing engine repairs while on shore power. As soon as the Japanese air attack began, the general quarters alarm sounded, and the crew scrambled to their battle stations. The sky was filled with attacking aircraft, and, in a few moments, all of the New Orleans ’ air defense weapons were firing at a fever pitch. The ship’s chaplain, Cdr. Howell Forgy, moved about the ship, giving encouragement to the men. He himself was inspired by a group of sailors passing shells to one of the five-inch gun mounts:
The big five-inch shells, weighing close to a hundred pounds, were being pulled up the powerless hoist by ropes attached to their long, tube-like metal cases. A tiny Filipino messboy, who weighed little more than the shell, hoisted it to his shoulder, staggered a few steps, and grunted as he started the long, tortuous trip up two flights of ladders to the quarterdeck, where the guns thirsted for steel and powder. A dozen eager men lined up at the hoist. The parade of ammunition was endless, but the cry kept coming from topside for more, more, more… The boys were putting everything they had into the job, and it was beginning to tell on them… Minutes turned to hours. Physical exhaustion was coming to every man in the human endless-chain of that ammunition line. They struggled on. They could keep going only by keeping faith in their hearts.
I slapped their wet, sticky backs and shouted, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.”*
This phrase soon became well known and was incorporated into a song by Frank Loesser. Reflecting a more innocent age and the religious character of America at that time, it became a popular hit. The song told the story of a chaplain who laid aside his Bible to man the guns, while shouting what was to become one of the most famous phrases of World War II.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… A time to tear and a time to mend, A time to be silent and a time to speak, A time to love and a time to hate, A time for war and a time for peace.
—Ecclesiastes 3:1, 78
World War II Navy recruiting poster. (National Archives)
