Deepertruth: Pearl Harbor December 7 and the Holy Eucharist

Father Schmitt, 32, had just said Mass that Sunday morning when the Oklahoma was hit by at least nine Japanese torpedoes and grazed by several bombs, according to reports in the National Archives.

The battleship, which had a complement of about 1,300, quickly rolled over in 50 feet of water, trapping hundreds of men below decks.

Thirty-two were saved by rescue crews who heard them banging for help, cut into the hull and made their way through a maze of darkened, flooded compartments to reach them.

Others managed to escape by swimming underwater to find their way out. Some trapped sailors tried to stem the rushing water with rags and even the board from a game. One distraught man tried to drown himself.

A few managed to escape through portholes — saved by brave comrades such as Father Schmitt, who is said to have helped as many as 12 sailors get out of a small compartment.

He was posthumously given the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism.

The medal citation states that after helping several shipmates to safety, he got stuck in the porthole as other sailors tried to pull him through.

“Realizing that other men had come into the compartment looking for a way out, Chaplain Schmitt insisted that he be pushed back into the ship so that they might escape,” the citation says.

“Calmly urging them on with a pronouncement of his blessing, he remained behind while they crawled out to safety,” it says.