Members of the Greatest Generation, and indeed, anyone who was more than age 5 on Dec. 7, 1941, remembers where they were when they heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and America was at war.
Most veterans interviewed for The Islander Greatest Generation columns were at home that Sunday afternoon listening to the radio or getting ready for supper. Some recall being with friends or girlfriends, enjoying the day at a park or the movie theater. It was a day and time that is forever in their memories.
As my generation remembers where we were when we heard President John F. Kennedy was shot, Greatest Generation members recall Pearl Harbor day and the following day, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation by radio.
Today, Dec. 7, 2011, is the 70th anniversary of what Roosevelt said in his radio address would be forever known as a “date which will live in infamy.”
On this date 70 years ago, Japanese naval aircraft forces without warning attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and other military facilities on the Island of Oahu, prompting America’s entry into World War II.
Only about 2,000 of the estimated 60,000 American servicemen who were stationed on Oahu then are still alive.
At the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association convention today in Pearl Harbor, the main topic will be whether to disband the association and turn over activities and funds to the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors Association — the group that will be trusted to keep the memory of the day alive.
Of the remaining survivors, only about 50 are able to attend the convention, which was to take place at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The youngest member of the survivor’s association is 87, according to the association website.
More than 2,400 U.S. servicemen were killed in the Sunday morning attack that saw the U.S. Navy’s Pacific battleship fleet decimated.
Four battleships were sunk and four severely damaged. Three cruisers, three destroyers and a mine-laying ship were also sunk, and 188 aircraft, including bombers and fighters, were destroyed.
Fortunately, none of the main targets of the attack, the three U.S. aircraft carriers stationed at Pearl Harbor, were in port that day.
The battleship Arizona capsized and sank at her mooring berth at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor with an estimated 1,100 men trapped aboard. At the request of the families of the men killed, no effort was made to recover their remains. The site and ship have been turned into a national memorial.
None of the World War II veterans interviewed for the Greatest Generation were at Pearl Harbor that day, but many immediately rushed to join the Armed Forces, and most of those who saw duty in the Pacific passed through Pearl Harbor and saw what was left of the Arizona.
To this day, the Arizona remains the only ship from Dec. 7, 1941, still on active duty with the U.S. Navy.
SIDEBAR
Anna Maria WWII vet dies without medal
World War II veteran Frank “Frankie” Almeda of Anna Maria died Nov. 27 at the age of 87. His story was featured in The Islander’s Greatest Generation column of Dec. 20, 2006.
Born and raised in Tampa of Cuban parents, Almeda served in the U.S. Army in the invasion of the Philippines, where his knowledge of Spanish saved his company from a Japanese ambush.
Almeda was wounded twice in the Philippines, but never received the Purple Heart medal given to all Americans wounded during combat. He was awarded the Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster and the Army Commendation Medal, among other honors, but wanted his Purple Heart for having shed blood for his country.
For the last 10 years of his life, Almeda tried to get his wounds recognized by the Army and obtain his Purple Heart, but he had no papers showing he had been wounded.
Without corroborating evidence, such as eyewitnesses, a statement in his discharge papers, or a medical doctor’s account of his wounds, the Army said it could not issue the medal.
Almeda wrote to a number of politicians for help, including U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, but had no success.
Even without the Purple Heart, Almeda was a quiet hero and a proud veteran. He also was an original member of the Anna Maria Pier Regulars, a group of dedicated fishers who meet the first Wednesday of every month — now at the Rod & Reel Pier — in Anna Maria.
He served as president and spokesperson for the Pier Regulars for many years, organized an annual get-together with presents and prizes at Christmas and was recognized for his altruistic efforts. He was one of the first on Anna Maria Island to join the effort to protect nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings in the 1970s.
To this reporter and newspaper publisher Bonner Joy, both who tried to help Almeda get his much-deserved medal, Frankie Almeda did not need the Purple Heart to be of America’s Greatest Generation.