Albert ran to the lower deck of the ship to help supply ammunition while his older brother, Geno, was sent up above to man anti-aircraft guns. Geno remembers scrambling to get into position, "It was Sunday, some people went to church, some had shore leave, so they sent us up on the aircraft guns. Did we hit anything? I don't know. It was zoom, they were gone, ya know." The USS Maryland was tied to the USS Oklahoma which acted as a barrier, but after being attacked the Oklahoma started to capsize threatening the Maryland and everyone on it. "They (sailors) cut our connection between us and the Oklahoma," recalls Geno Morosi. "I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe the devastation that was behind us... it was quite a shock to see that." Geno later witnessed the Oklahoma exploding into flames. "It blew. Fire came out. Blew the guys over the side and everywhere else."
One day later, December 8, 1941, Albert wrote a post card to his parents in Illinois to let them know he was alive. The post card read: "I am well. Letter to follow at first opportunity." That same day, Albert and other sailors formed a working rescue party to go on board the USS West Virginia and assess the damage. "There were parts of bodies laying all over the deck and everything else, that was something I never wanted to see again." The surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii took the lives of 2,400 Americans.
After the war, Albert settled in California and Geno in Michigan. They still talk on the phone about once a week. While the number of Pearl Harbor survivors is rapidly declining, approximately 3,000 are still alive, Albert says he doesn't view himself as a hero. "The ones who survived aren't the heroes, it's the ones who perished are the ones who should really be remembered, they gave their lives."
Read More: Pearl Harbor Survivors Remember Attack
