PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — With a giant American flag waving at half-staff under a cloudy sky, an aging and dwindling group of Pearl Harbor survivors gathered Sunday to commemorate the Japanese attack that launched the United States into World War II 62 years ago.
The generations that have passed since Dec 7, 1941 have softened the pain but not eroded memories, the survivors said in a service at the USS Arizona Memorial.
"I'm getting too old to have feelings," said Leo Fitzek, 91, who was a radio operator on Ford Island, next to the harbor's Battleship Row, at the time of the attack.
About 250 people gathered on the memorial for the ceremony that began 62 years to the minute after the attack started.
Representatives of veterans and military groups dropped anthuriums and plumerias onto the water in an open well in the memorial, as the 18-foot flag waved at half-staff.
"The actions of those enemies may forever live in infamy," said Adm Thomas Fargo, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific. "But the valor of our citizens lives more boldly in our history."
The Arizona, which sank at its mooring along Battleship Row after a bomb ripped it open, remains a tomb for most of the 1,177 crewmen who were killed. The USS Arizona Memorial spans the hull of the battleship that sank in just nine minutes during the attack.
"You always remember," said William Cope, 90, who was a B-17 pilot at Hickam Air Force Base during the attack.
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and other military bases on Oahu lasted two hours. Twenty-one ships were heavily damaged, and 320 aircraft were damaged or destroyed. In all, 2,388 people were killed and 1,177 were wounded.
On the other side of the harbor, hundreds gathered at another service, which included a speech by Ernest Borgnine, the Oscar-winning actor whose role in "From Here to Eternity" won him the invitation to the service that was titled "Hollywood Remembers Pearl Harbor."
In separate ceremonies Sunday, two men who were aboard ships in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack were being buried at sea.
Elsewhere across the country, veterans groups planned candlelight ceremonies in New York, Chicago and Atlanta to honor Pearl Harbor victims.
This year's rather subdued observances were similar to those last year, but were far different from 2001, when the 60th anniversary and its parallels with the Sept 11 terrorist attacks drew thousands to Hawaii. (Wire reports)
Article republished, courtesy of Japan Today: http://www.japantoday.com
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Please also see:
Map courtesy of: Pearl Harbor: Remembered; http://my.execpc.com/~dschaaf/mainmenu.html
Pearl Harbor Day Project; http://www.wnyafn.com/cva/cva03.htm
ANOTHER VIEW ON PEARL HARBOR, By Bob Fink, 1992;
http://www.webster.sk.ca/greenwich/Pearl-h.HTM
Advance Warning?
The Red Cross Connection,By Daryl S. Borgquist
Naval History, June 1999;
http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/Articles99/NHborgquist.htm
Pearl Harbor Archive; Pearl Harbor Document
Japanese Naval Dispatch #902
Naval Minister, Admiral Shigetaro Shimada
December 2, 1941 (Japan Time)
http://www.independent.org/tii/news/030206Stinnett.html
The needless US Pacific War with Japan -- Courtesy of Stalin and FDR;
http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=news_history&Number=1092218&t=-1#Post1092218
The Pearl Harbor Deception;
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=47208;title=APFN
PEARL HARBOR: MOTHER OF ALL CONSPIRACIES;
http://whatreallyhappened.com/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html
and
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo hasn't paid rent since 1998;
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=281384
The generations that have passed since Dec 7, 1941 have softened the pain but not eroded memories, the survivors said in a service at the USS Arizona Memorial.
"I'm getting too old to have feelings," said Leo Fitzek, 91, who was a radio operator on Ford Island, next to the harbor's Battleship Row, at the time of the attack.
About 250 people gathered on the memorial for the ceremony that began 62 years to the minute after the attack started.
Representatives of veterans and military groups dropped anthuriums and plumerias onto the water in an open well in the memorial, as the 18-foot flag waved at half-staff.
"The actions of those enemies may forever live in infamy," said Adm Thomas Fargo, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific. "But the valor of our citizens lives more boldly in our history."
The Arizona, which sank at its mooring along Battleship Row after a bomb ripped it open, remains a tomb for most of the 1,177 crewmen who were killed. The USS Arizona Memorial spans the hull of the battleship that sank in just nine minutes during the attack.
"You always remember," said William Cope, 90, who was a B-17 pilot at Hickam Air Force Base during the attack.
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and other military bases on Oahu lasted two hours. Twenty-one ships were heavily damaged, and 320 aircraft were damaged or destroyed. In all, 2,388 people were killed and 1,177 were wounded.
On the other side of the harbor, hundreds gathered at another service, which included a speech by Ernest Borgnine, the Oscar-winning actor whose role in "From Here to Eternity" won him the invitation to the service that was titled "Hollywood Remembers Pearl Harbor."
In separate ceremonies Sunday, two men who were aboard ships in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack were being buried at sea.
Elsewhere across the country, veterans groups planned candlelight ceremonies in New York, Chicago and Atlanta to honor Pearl Harbor victims.
This year's rather subdued observances were similar to those last year, but were far different from 2001, when the 60th anniversary and its parallels with the Sept 11 terrorist attacks drew thousands to Hawaii. (Wire reports)
Article republished, courtesy of Japan Today: http://www.japantoday.com
Related Articles
Bush omits reference to Japan in Pearl Harbor statement http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=281355
Bush cites global war on terror in Pearl Harbor statement http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=281340
Please also see:
Map courtesy of: Pearl Harbor: Remembered; http://my.execpc.com/~dschaaf/mainmenu.html
Pearl Harbor Day Project; http://www.wnyafn.com/cva/cva03.htm
ANOTHER VIEW ON PEARL HARBOR, By Bob Fink, 1992;
http://www.webster.sk.ca/greenwich/Pearl-h.HTM
Advance Warning?
The Red Cross Connection,By Daryl S. Borgquist
Naval History, June 1999;
http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/Articles99/NHborgquist.htm
Pearl Harbor Archive; Pearl Harbor Document
Japanese Naval Dispatch #902
Naval Minister, Admiral Shigetaro Shimada
December 2, 1941 (Japan Time)
http://www.independent.org/tii/news/030206Stinnett.html
The needless US Pacific War with Japan -- Courtesy of Stalin and FDR;
http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=news_history&Number=1092218&t=-1#Post1092218
The Pearl Harbor Deception;
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=47208;title=APFN
PEARL HARBOR: MOTHER OF ALL CONSPIRACIES;
http://whatreallyhappened.com/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html
and
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo hasn't paid rent since 1998;
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=281384