What does Pearl Harbor mean to you?
75 years ago today, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. Many know the story of the “Day which will live in infamy” but I had the tremendous honor of hearing from someone who was actually there on that day 75 years ago.
Here is what I learned from him on Memorial Day of 2016:
For the better half of the last week, I have been in the southwestern corner of Ohio staying with my grandparents helping them with some of their various outdoor projects. While there, I had the privilege of meeting their friend, Joe.
Joe is one of the last remaining Ohio native Navy veterans present at Pearl Harbor that fateful day in 1941. Joe is 92, and does not speak very well, but told me he saw the USS Arizona blow up from Japanese bombs. During the battle, he stood on the deck with a rifle and fired a single shot at a retreating Japanese plane. Later, after surveying the wreckage of all the enemy planes shot down, there was one bomber with a single rifle hole in it.
During the duration of the war, Joe served aboard the USS San Francisco and earned 17 battle stars. Listening to the stories he told was unbelievable, from intense fighting at Guadalcanal to watching Old Glory being raised atop Mt. Suribachi at Iwo Jima. I was struck by how vividly he recalled events from 75 years ago, it was if they had transpired just yesterday.
Joe is a true American hero. At the age of 17, he entered the Navy to protect this country's freedoms and he did just that for four-and-a-half years in the South Pacific theater. Without people like him, who knows, maybe this country is not like the United States that we know today.
Meeting and sharing just a brief amount of time with Joe was one of the most awesome things that I have ever done. I have always appreciated the sacrifices made by the armed forces, but I think this event reopened my eyes. If the opportunity ever presents itself, speak with a WWII veteran. Lord knows there are not many left, and we can learn so much from them.
