http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53GYhJzW-GY

Frank Chebetar was a 20-year old cook on a ship at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II on the morning of December 7, 1941. On the 70th anniversary of the attack, Chebetar describes what he saw on that day as the memories move him to tears: “I can picture myself waiting to go ashore and then seeing those flames come up. Never can you forget that, especially a ship on fire.” The attack became the impetus for the United States’s entry into World War II.

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Witnessing the Attack on Pearl Harbor & Flames in the Water appeared first on Witnify.

Author: Herb Huseland

As I sit contemplating the memories of Pearl Harbor, I realize that from baby boomers on down, this was history, not a life experience. Those born after World War II were for the most part unaffected by those experiences.

I was born in March of 1938 and was seven years old when the war ended, and three and a half the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. At the age I was, not a lot of detail was retained. One, though, was: I witnessed adults running out into the streets of Seattle expecting to see bombs falling from Japanese aircrafts; that Japan did not have long range capability was ignored, even by our military.

Farragut, Idaho was chosen for naval training not because of its proximity to Lake Pend Oreille, but because of its distance from the vulnerable Pacific coast.

This generation, along with mine, holds 9/11 and the twin towers of New York City as an equally egregious attack, this time against civilians instead of military targets. The war against Japan ended finally, but will the war against Jihadists ever end?

There are only seven Pearl Harbor veterans left to attend their annual reunion. My generation will soon die off leaving Pearl Harbor as only an historical event, not touching many lives unless a grandfather was part of it. Still, we should remember Pearl Harbor as an example of our vulnerability.

SOURCE: http://bayviews.blogspot.com/2013/12/pearl-harbor-remembered.html

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[TEXT] Pearl Harbor Remembered as ‘Example of Our Vulnerability’ appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=471noSZ7z94

World War II veteran Harold Ward, who served with the U.S. Navy, experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor firsthand. Ward recalls observing the entire attack from his battle station on the U.S.S San Francisco, describing it as both “scary” and “awesome.” Ward later goes on to explain what his assignment was when the U.S. officially entered the war after the attack.

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An Eyewitness to Pearl Harbor appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWluBeIRkUA

“Our biggest base…you expect it to be attacked, but not blown apart.”

Congressman Kenny Marchant interviews veteran Bernard Jezercak, who fought in World War II as a technical sergeant of the Merrill’s Marauders, a special operations jungle warfare unit. This unit fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II and became well-known for its long-range penetration missions behind Japanese lines while engaging enemy forces superior in number. Jezercak is one of the few surviving members of the Merrill’s Marauders and his service has earned him the Silver Star and Bronze Star. View more veterans’ stories at the Veterans History Project.

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Former Merrill’s Marauder Recalls the Attack on Pearl Harbor appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC43iPtUCuo

Mickey’s first person account details events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack and what caused the United States to join the war after months on the sidelines. Mickey, Pearl Harbor survivor, first decided to join the Navy while he was working at a Rubber Company in California of 1939. Although the draft specified that those twenty-one years or older sign up, Mickey signed up only a few months before his twenty-first birthday. His love for football led him to work on Battleship Pennsylvania and become a part of one of the best teams in the fleet. December 7, 1941 was not only the day for his fleet championship football game, but it was also the day Mickey was called into action.

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Pearl Harbor Survivor's Detailed Account of Events Leading Up to the Attack appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcA8ZzkZ10c

Herb Weatherwax, born in Honolulu on June 3rd 1917, discusses his first person account on the events at Pearl Harbor in 1941. His interview recounts the time when “the sky was black with smoke" and the workers in the Harbor suffered “more than a material damage”. Weatherwax frequently visits the memorial to get his story out to the hundreds of people that visit each year.

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Herb Weatherwax Recalls the Attack At Pearl Harbor appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ2UbiCa240

Pearl Harbor survivor, Jim Gates, recalls a specific experience from the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. His first-person account begins on December 7, 1941. Gates remembers watching the unfortunate and inevitable death of a man in a plane. He was located in a large plastic doom, watching, with no way to help.

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Jim Gates Recalls the Death of a Man At Pearl Harbor appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmRUOsD3Fus

Alfred Rodrigues' first-hand account gives a short but inspirational narrative about when the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Born on February 7, 1920 in Hawaii, Rodrigues was among the first few to be called into active duty in 1940. Expecting only a year of service, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of the war suddenly extended his service for an indefinite period of time. Rodrigues exclaims that 'freedom and peace are so fragile' and that it is up to younger generations to recognize how important they are and to protect them.

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Alfred Rodrigues – Pearl Harbor Survivor Speaks About His Experience appeared first on Witnify.