From AP reporter Jaymes Song: “With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy. This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell. . . .
Nearly 500 survivors from across the nation were expected to make the trip to Hawaii, bringing with them 1,300 family members, numerous wheelchairs and too many haunting memories.”
Thank you, gentlemen, for giving your lives to protect our country and thank you to your families for supporting you. May we never forget, and may the Lord of all creation bless you and your families richly.
My father, who was a ship’s doctor on the USS Alabama and saw action in the Pacific theater, died at 89-years-old two years ago. About 10 years ago, he and I researched the ship on the Internet and noticed that surviving crew held reunions periodically and there was a lot of excitment surrounding their get togethers. I’ve been reading a newly published book, Halsey’s Typhoon, the story of an “epic storm” in the Pacific during WWII, and thought I’d check the Internet again to see when the crew of the USS Alabama was having its next reunion. The voices I heard 10 years ago are eerily silent. No reunions planned.
Lynne AKA The Wicked Witch of Publishing