Pearl Harbor survivors remember the fallen

HONOLULU, Hawaii — Survivors gathered on Thursday at the site of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to remember fellow servicemen killed in the early morning raid 76 years ago.

In a solemn ceremony they paid homage to the thousands who died in the surprise bombing raid that plunged the United States into World War II.

About 20 survivors attended the event at a grassy spot overlooking the harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. They were joined by about 2,000 naval personnel, officials and members of the public.

Gilbert Meyer, who lived through the Dec 7, 1941 bombing, said he returned to pay his respects to his shipmates from the USS Utah and say a prayer for them.

The 94-year-old, who lives near Lytle, Texas, was a firefighter on board when a torpedo hit the port side of the Utah. He said he’s still alive because he happened to be on the ship’s starboard side.

“I think about my shipmates and how they were killed. It reminds me that we’re lucky we got off and we’ve made a good country for them,” Meyer said.

Herbert Elfring, 95, remembered hearing bombs explode and first thought the explosions were training exercises.

Then a fighter plane with Japan’s World War II Rising Sun insignia strafed the Camp Makaole base where Elfring, 19 at the time, was serving. The bullets missed him by about five meters.

“When I looked up and saw the red ball on the fuselage, I knew it wasn’t our plane,” he said. “I knew it was a Japanese plane.”

Remembrance day

The ceremony began with a moment of silence at 7:55 am — the time the attack began.

Four Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 fighter jets broke the silence, with one plane peeling off from the group to symbolize servicemen still missing.

Later, US President Donald Trump proclaimed Dec 7, 2017 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

More than 2,330 servicemen were killed in the assault by Japanese airplanes. Nearly half were on the USS Arizona, which exploded and sank after it was hit by two bombs.