Central Texas Pearl Harbor survivor shares story about attack

Few of those who were at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 are still alive; only a handful were able to attend the memorial ceremony at which Washington Redskins president Bruce Allen and other dignitaries extolled their virtues and celebrated their heroism.

Americans learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by gathering around radios on December 7, 1941.

The surprise attack killed 2,043 Americans and lead to the USA entry into World War II.

President Donald Trump and Governor Kay Ivey have ordered all USA flags in the state to be flown at half-staff today. “The people who served in WWII are the ‘greatest generation.’ They shaped and made America what it is today; we owe them a lot”.

Parry was a 21-year-old Army motor mechanic stationed on Oahu in 1941 when Japanese forces launched a surprise aerial attack on the military base there.

Pann, 95, is a perhaps the last living Pearl Harbor survivor in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

“I had just finished breakfast”, said Clyde Stephenson, a retired Marine who served aboard the U.S.S. California in Pearl Harbor.

Labranche said preserving people’s legacies is what drives the Pearl Harbor Day ceremony.

Jim Snow and Louis Thomas also took the time to remember their fathers who fought in World War II.

“Now that Vickie is gone, it is up to me, my siblings and all the rest of the family to carry on the legacy of Doris Miller”, Henrietta said. Twice in our lifetime has the long arm of fate reached out across the oceans to bring the United States into the forefront of the battle.

The Navy and National Park Service host the ceremony each year at the same time the attack began. Almost half were on the USS Arizona, which exploded and sank after it was hit by two bombs.

He is able to recall that morning 76 years ago, saying he along with others were asleep when what they thought were gunshots abruptly awakened them.

To commemorate the moment the Japanese attacked, a ceremonial wreath was laid into Lake Como at 12:55 p.m., which was the exact time in DE the first bomb hit the naval base.

Many of those memories have faded, he admitted Thursday at the Tippecanoe County Veterans Council Pearl Harbor Day Observance. “Bombs that fell from the sky like rain”, said Retired Col. Ralph Newman of the U.S. Army, reading Davis’ words at a Pearl Harbor memorial on Thursday.