Lt. Claude V. Ricketts, who would one day become US Vice Chief of Naval Operations, began counterflooding on his own responsibility, assisted at the valves by a knowledgeable Boatswains Mate. As watertight doors crashed shut, the pleas of trapped men could be heard-but there was no choice. Aided by this prompt action and the wire cables stretching over the Tennessee, the dreadnought corrected her 28 degree list; swinging back to starboard with a 15 degree list, she sank bodily until the turn of her port bilge hit bottom. Although she unfortunately jammed the Tennessee into the concrete quay, the "Wee Vee" avoided-just barely- the fatal act of capsizing.
Topside, the situation was also desperate. The Starboard AA batteries, spitting defiance within two minutes of Brook's call, soon exhausted their ammunition. Lt. Ricketts, aided by Ensign Ford, organized and ammunition passing team: due to the list, it had to be a double row of men, one to pass and the other to keep the passers from falling on the slanting deck. The men continued at this hazardous duty even as flames drew near.
Executive Officer Commander R.H. Hillenkoetter was proceeding aft along the starboard side when its 16-inch Three Turret was damaged, the plane atop and nearby gear taking fire. While directing a party against this blaze, he later recalled, a tremendous explosion erupted forth from the Arizona astern. "Burning debris of all sizes…rained in the quarter deck of the West Virginia." The destruction of the nearby battlewagon brought concern to the "Wee Vee's" bridge; Lt. Commander T.T. Beattie moved to ascertain the flooding of the ship's after magazine.
Captain Bennion had arrived in the conning tower early to direct his vessel over one of the few telephones still operable. When his command settled into the mud, Japanese Val dive bombers began to concentrate on the Tennessee attempting to make of her an equal victory. Stepping out onto the bridge, Bennion was felled by a large splinter thrown across from a bomb hit on the inboard vessel. Ensign Victor Delano cradled the dying man's head until Lt. Ricketts and a party could arrive and move the skipper to a sheltered area. Remaining conscious, the Captain's only thought was for his ship and men. He ordered Ricketts and others on the bridge to leave him and save themselves, which they refused to do, and kept track of the fight until he died. For gallantry and steadfastness Mervyn Bennion was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The West Virginia had now taken more punishment in weight of bombs (two) and torpedoes(seven) than any other ship in the harbor, including even the Arizona and Oklahoma. For well over an hour, the hanks stood by fighting fires with only the wounded evacuated. By 9:40 a.m. the ship was ablaze from the bow to the 16 inch Turret One, flames and thick black smoke spurting up as high as the foretop and beyond. Nearly a hundred men, blown or fallen overboard, were being rescued by boats from other vessels, particularly the repair ship Rigel. By 10:05 a.m. burning fuel oil and debris, mostly from the Arizona, was drifting down upon her stern and sweeping along the port side. With all power gone, fire consuming her superstructure and the "impossibility" of flooding the forward magazine, Lt. Commander Harper passed the word, "Abandon Ship".