Remember Pearl Harbor
By Mitch Berg
The number of survivors is inexorably dwindling, but some Pearl Harbor survivors are still busy telling their story:
Ten years ago, about 15 Pearl Harbor survivors were part of the pool of veterans who mingled with visitors, according to Skip Wheeler, a National Park Service ranger at the Arizona memorial who coordinates the volunteer effort. Now there are just these five.
One of the regulars, Air Force veteran Bill Cope, died on Nov. 25 at age 94.
“The attrition level is here, and we know that every day that they show up, it’s sort of like a gift,” Arizona Memorial historian Daniel Martinez said.
The numbers are reflective of the nationwide loss of the “Greatest Generation,” and the ever-shrinking survivor turnout for the anniversary of the attack that launched the United States into World War II. There are only about 5,000 remaining survivors of the attack, according to Mal Middlesworth, national president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
As we noted last summer at the dedication of Minnesota’s WWII Memorial, Minnesotans fired the first shots at Pearl Harbor, and fought in the hundreds of thousands in the war that ensued.
Know a WWII veteran? Thank ’em again.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Ah yes, and immediately after we were attacked, Franklin Dubya Roosevelt declared war on Mexico.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I’m worried. You seem to have developed the same condition that’s been hampering Slash’s attempts at satire.
You oughtta get that looked at.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
I agree. Even for AC, that was pretty sub-par.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
lame. We promptly declared war on Germany. You remember….”Was it over when the German’s bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain’t over now! Cause when the going gets tough.. The tough get …………..goin’. Who’s with me?”
December 8th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Actually, buzz, the Germans declared war on us & we responded in kind.
We probably could have negotiated an end to the war with Germany by suspending aid to Britain. Instead we made Europe the first front.
And clown, nobody named ‘Roosevelt’ declared war on anyone during WW2. Only congress can do that. Your own two senators, Clinton and Schumer, voted for the Iraq war. W didn’t.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
BTW, the deck gun from the Ward is down in Bloomington somewhere.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Dr. No said: “And clown, nobody named ‘Roosevelt’ declared war on anyone during WW2. Only congress can do that.”
Tell that to Shrub.
And observing all the historical niceties would have made for a rather cumbersome one-liner.