According to the May 26, 2008 article which discussed a memorial plaque to be placed in the village, the first American military action against Japan in World War II was initiated by Middleport native William Outerbridge at 6:37 a.m. prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
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“I’m honoring them, not myself”, he said.
“My grandfather was an incredible man – and I credit him with my service”, said Lawrence, a petty officer 2nd Class in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Shook was working on the USS Phoenix.
More than 2,400 American troops and civilians were killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. “To think when it all started I was just 19-years-old, and today here I am 94 and a half”.
“Historical disputes tend to be brought up when relations become thorny … but once you put them behind and move on, it makes a difference if there is any negative sentiment in the future”, he said. “But I don’t dwell on it”. As a Pacific nation, the U.S.is committed to continue its responsibility of protecting the Pacific sea-lanes, advancing worldwide ideals and relationships, well as delivering security, influence and responsiveness in the region.
Some small remembrances remain, maintained largely by veterans groups and the children and grandchildren of the survivors, but December 7 now sits on the cusp of history – inevitably consigned to archival footage as events as Bunker Hill, Gettysburg and countless others have been.
26 year-old Macie Kelly compared the impact of Pearl Harbor to that of 9/11.
Shook says he had just finished eating breakfast when he heard gunfire!
“That submarine was on the surface and our skipper didn’t know if it was ours or not”, Lehner, 20 at the time of the attacks, said at the Los Angeles event.
Another veteran, Ray Chavez, tells AP that he recalls seeing an unidentified submarine hours before the attack began and reporting it to the authorities.
Stoller says it’s fun to see the veterans get the recognition they deserve.
“President Obama’s message for the world without nuclear upon his visit to Hiroshima was engraved in the heart of the Japanese people”, Abe said earlier this month.
He and his 900 crewmates survived.
His ship, the cruiser Salt Lake City, wasn’t hit, and it left the Pearl Harbor area the next day.
“Scared and helpless”, said Shook.
(AP Photo/U.S. Navy, File).
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The U.S fought for more than four years in the Pacific, winning by conducting a strategy known as island hopping.
