Story Telling Circle
I wrote this. 
It’s called I Was Glad to Know You. 1941 Pearl Harbor, Battleship U.S.S Philadelphia, Colorado class (BB-91.) Jerry Makine was the commander of the U.S.S. Philadelphia. He was in his cabin when he was suddenly surprised when his best friend and first lieutenant Ricki Selvangeto. Ricki was of French descent. He had long black hair the color of the coal the ship used for power and blue eyes that looked like the sea and a little bit of a mustache on his upper lip. He talk with a French and Norwegian accent. The Norwegian was on his fathers side. Jerry found that out at a ships’ party. Ricki’s father was a short man with the liking of the words ” Sacre bleu! ”, but when he said it it sounded like ” Sock is my beard” , but no one ever told him so as not to hurt his feelings. Ricki learned English at the University of Boston in 1938 and went on until 1940 when Hitler was moving troops into Europe. Ricki joined the Navy in hope to finish college. When he was nothing but a cadet he wanted to serve on a battleship. He wanted to go on a Colorado or Iowa class Battleship.When He was finally put to sea he had earned the rank of lieutenant. The Philadelphia was his ship. Ricki came into tell Jerry that something was on radar and that he should have a look. So Jerry went to command and all the midshipmen were yelling ” Captain on the bridge!” It took Jerry a little time to get used to it. The Philadelphia was his new command after all. Not the destroyer he was used to. The Philadelphia had 3 times the armor and 4 times the fire power. After he managed to quiet them down his second lieutenant showed him what was on radar. The little anomalies they thought were P-40’s running training missions. They weren’t. THEY WERE THE JAPANESE INVASION FORCE! The deck of the Hityu, Soru, Murasaki, and Hirou were filled with an assortment of bombers, fighters, and torpedo planes. The exhaust smelled foul and of fuel. It would take a ninja to go fore and aft. The planes were getting ready to spew destruction all over Pearl Harbor. Engines roaring, they leaped into the sky with a sudden launch of the throttle. Jerry and Ricki were out at an Hawaiian restaurant when out of nowhere the radio said that some of the B-17’s that the mainland sent over were on radar. The B-17’s were actually 7.9 miles away. The ones they saw were the Japanese planes. Jerry and Ricki went straight back to the Philadelphia. Just then they heard buzzing over head. Then they saw the red sun on the wings. Right… Then…. Bang!!! The hull of the U.S.S. Arizona was blown into pieces. They went into full panic. Jerry and Ricki were shouting orders like,” You there! Help the wounded!” or ” ”Man the Guns!!!” The men went to any weapon they could find and were fighting. It was all around havoc. Next thing: it got a lot worse. A rogue Zero spun out of control and crashed into the bridge of the Philadelphia with extreme force and tumbled on the deck like a bowling ball and the turrets and men were the pins! It finally stopped at the front. Heavy casualties! Jerry was running from the bow when… BUURRRBOOM!!! He was flown to turret A in the front of the ship. He landed in such a way that an arm and a leg broke on impact because he ricocheted of the rail that pushes the water away from the turrets. Many men saw him on the deck. The dying angel. Ricki and the second lieutenant rushed to him. Ricki was sobbing as the flame and destruction engulfed the ship. He and the second lieutenant were trying to help and Jerry Makine died on the deck telling Ricki that it would be alright and what a good friend he was to him. Then with the wift of the wind, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted away with his friends around him. Ricki was sad with the war. This god damned war. All these men dying and for what? He swore that he would get them back. He was going to get the soulless Japanese back. He and Mike second lieutenant had to finish this. FOUR HOURS LATER: The Pearl Harbor raid was over and all the ships in the harbor were either sinking or burning. The Philadelphia was just a floating piece of twisted metal. She lost 45 men and most of her bow and bridge,3 turrets and every inch of her had at least 2 bullet holes. Ricki and the second lieutenant were talking through the flaming deck and thinking of all the men lost. All the great men lost that day. Especially one captain, Jerry Makine.
Epologue
Ricki survived the war and went to study world geography and engineering to understand the way that the earth works to make the most supreme battleships. Then went to help the army corps build the worlds biggest and strongest battleships. He never forgot Jerry and always visited his grave on Sunday. He lives in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Mike died in Iwo Jima helping a tank division.
The U.S.S. Philadelphia survived the war and is undergoing restoration in Pearl Harbor,Hawaii.
And if you’re wondering who wrote this, it is Jerry Makine’s best friend,
Ricki Selvangeto