Hattiesburg World War II veteran remembers Pearl Harbor

Next year, the 75th anniversary of pearl harbor will be commemorated.

But with each passing year, fewer and fewer took the time to remember. Blue skies and warm ocean breezes were blowing over the islands as American military personnel and civilians went about their tasks.

He thinks Pearl Harbor is a moment in our country’s history that should never be forgotten but keeping the memory alive is getting hard.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a Navy launch pulls up to the blazing USS West Virginia to rescue a sailor, December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. That morning he was walking toward a hanger and a bomb was dropped on it by a Japanese plane.

More than 2,400 Americans were killed, half the USA fleet was lost, and all eight battleships were damaged or destroyed.

In 1970, former Gov. Arch Moore honored the West Virginia survivors with special Pearl Harbor licence plates.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war the next day, which it did with just one dissenting vote. The United States declared war on Japan the next day.

Numerous day’s events from Pearl Harbor will be live-streamed at pearlharborevents.com, Participants will be able to ask questions about the attack from National Park Service experts.

Community members, veterans and families gathered to honor Kozien and other servicemen.

Taps played as the wreath floated out into the cold waters, and the rain began to fall again.

Bernard Gearing, 86, is a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars. “So do all the veterans”. And the soldiers still with us were honored alongside other survivors.

“I woke up today and said, ‘Bert, today’s the day, ‘” said Davis, who still carries some of her husband’s remains in a locket around her neck. “You have to remember a lot of these veterans went out and they returned but they really didn’t know if they were going to return and that’s quite a sacrifice that they have given us”.