Veterans return to Pearl Harbor
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — A dozen frail survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor returned Saturday to honour those who perished when Japanese planes pierced a quiet sunny morning 78 years ago and rained bombs on U.S. battleships lined up below.
About 30 Second World War veterans and about 2,000 members of the public joined the survivors, the youngest of whom are now in their late 90s, to commemorate the anniversary of the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, that launched the United States into the war.
Herb Elfring, 97, of Jackson, Michigan, said being back at Pearl Harbor reminded him of all those who have lost their lives.
“It makes you think of all the servicemen who have passed ahead of me. As a Pearl Harbor survivor, I’m one of the last chosen few, I guess.”
Elfring, the only member of his old regiment still alive, was in the Army, assigned to the 251st Coast Artillery, part of the California National Guard. The unit’s job was to protect airfields, but they weren’t expecting an attack.
He was standing at the edge of his barracks at Camp Malakole a few kilometres along the coast from Pearl Harbor, when Japanese Zero planes flew over.
“I could hear it coming but didn’t pay attention to it until the strafing bullets were hitting the pavement about 15 feet away from me,” he said.
The attack killed more than 2,300 U.S. troops. Nearly half were marines and sailors serving on the USS Arizona, a battleship that sank within nine minutes of being hit, taking most of its crew down with it.
A moment of silence was held Saturday at 7:55 a.m., the same time the assault began. U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jets flying overhead in missing man formation broke the quiet.
In a speech, Retired Navy Admiral Harry Harris, currently the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said it’s difficult to imagine the events of 78 years ago when people “not unlike us” were waking up to enjoy another day in paradise. “It was a day of gallantry and unquestionable heroism even as it was a day of sacrifice and immeasurable loss,” Harris said.
He said the war generation played a pivotal role in underwriting the freedoms the U.S. enjoys today. “Every Dec. 7, we remember the past actions of our veterans on Oahu because they inspire us today and because they shape our tomorrows,” he said.
The ceremony came after deadly shootings at U.S. naval bases last week, at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.
Rear Admiral Robert Chadwick, commander of Navy Region Hawaii, said the military community has received an outpouring of love and support after the shooting at “our beloved shipyard.”
A Pearl Harbor National Memorial spokesman said security had been beefed up as usual for the annual event.