Seventy years ago on December 7, 1941 a Japansese force consisting of six carriers with 423 planes began an attack on Pearl Harbor. By 9:45 am casualties included servicemen and civilians with many people wounded. The Japansese suffered minimal losses and severely crippled the U.S. naval and air strength in the Pacific. During the attack the USS Arizona sank with a loss of more than 1,100 men. The following is an exert from a story about one of the survivors of that attack and wanted to share it with you. My ex-father-in-law, who died several years ago, was also a survivor of the attack.
Lee Soucy decided that when he died he wanted to join his shipmates killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Soucy lived to be 90, passing away just last year. On Tuesday, seven decades after dozens of fellow sailors were killed when the USS Utah sank on Dec. 7, 1941, a Navy diver will take a small urn containing his ashes and place it in a porthole of the ship.
The ceremony is one of five memorials being held this week for servicemen who lived through the assault and want their remains placed in Pearl Harbor out of pride and affinity for those they left behind. “They want to return and be with the shipmates that they lost during the attack,” said Jim Taylor, a retired sailor who coordinates the ceremonies.
The memorials are happening the same week the country observes the 70th anniversary of the aerial bombing that killed 2,390 Americans and brought the United States into World War II. A larger ceremony to remember all those who perished will be held Wednesday just before 8 a.m. Hawaii time — the same moment the devastating attack began.
Most of the 12 ships that sank or were beached that day were removed from the harbor, their metal hulls salvaged for scrap. Just the Utah and the USS Arizona still lie in the dark blue waters. Only survivors of those vessels may return in death to their ships.
If you’re interested you can read the full story here.
2 Comments
Earl
I first thought about what day this was just before 7am this morning, when the attack began. In my recent past, I worked for a Japanese owned manufacturing company for 18 years, which had a fair number of Japanese staff, and this day was seldom spoken of at the office. I think both sides felt a little awkward about what to say.
Monte Stevens
It seems there are many people who do not know that much about this day in our countries, and the worlds, history. I can understand how silence was “the thing” at that work environment. It wasn’t very long ago where I read about a group of US and Japanese veterans getting together for a memorial service.