Somehow, we like Bert's war story better

Having fun at age 95, Bert's spirit gives us all hope.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 ("A Date that Will Live in Infamy") the USS Northhampton battle cruiser was out to sea, alongside Admiral Halsey's Enterprise, an aircraft carrier. Fortunately they missed all the chaos and devastation, cruising into the harbor later the next day to survey the damage, then quickly departing to hunt down Japanese assets. That's all according to the official military web site and other accounts. Look it up.

Bert's boat, the USS Northampton, five months before Pearl Harbor

But that's not exactly the way Bert Stolier remembers it. We met this delightful 95-year-old ex-Marine at the World War II museum. He did his service on the Northampton, and frankly, we like his version of the day's events a lot better.
The way Bert has it, the Northampton was approaching Pearl that fateful Sunday morning and he remembers all hands being alerted with the ship's speakers blaring "This is No Drill!" They dashed to their battle stations and soon shot down a Zero, the first one to be taken out that day.
So there.
We were thrilled to hear this veteran energetically recount all his first hand experiences: delivering F4 Wildcat planes to Midway Island, screening the big carriers, firing the big guns.
He spoke clearly, heard and answered all our questions, and even flirted a bit with Mrs. Rolfsrud.
A lifelong New Orleans resident, Bert lost his wife of 62 years recently. Now, he says with a twinkle, he lives with a man: a labrador retriever named Sarge.
We don't doubt a single day of Bert's service, his dedication to duty or his belief that his ship was responsible for the first Japanese plane to go down at Pearl. Heck, maybe the web site historian just forgot to mention it.