This year, the anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor was as much a time for reflection on how people remember the event as it was to honor the event itself, as the “day that will live in infamy” gradually fades from living memory.
Just two veterans who survived the attack were able to make it to Saturday’s remembrance ceremony at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial honoring those killed in the surprise Japanese bombing that brought the U.S. into World War II. But even as the number of survivors dwindles, the consequences of the attack are still felt by many across the islands to this day.
Ira “Ike” Schab, who is 104 years old, stood up from his wheelchair with the help of his son and daughter to salute during the ceremony. During the attack 83 years ago, Schab was a Navy musician assigned to the USS Dobbin. As Japanese planes swooped in, he ferried ammunition to his comrades and witnessed the moment the USS Arizona exploded into flames.
Ken Stevens, 102, who served on the USS Whitney, joined Schab at the ceremony. Although Japanese forces mostly bypassed his ship, he remembers watching the battle and the carnage in its aftermath. USS Curtiss crew member Bob Fernandez, 100, was also scheduled to participate but was ultimately unable make the trip due to health issues.
The attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy, which targeted Pearl Harbor and other military sites across Oahu, killed 2,390 U.S. servicemen. Of those, 1,177 were sailors and Marines on board the USS Arizona, which sank during the battle. Today the remains of more than 900 Arizona crew members rest in the rusted remains of the battleship in the harbor.
After the war, the survivors lived very different lives. Stevens, who hails from the Oregon Coast, returned home to work in the logging industry. Schab went into aerospace engineering and worked on NASA’s Apollo program.
Many found it difficult for years after to talk about their experiences. Schab had refused to return to Hawaii until his family persuaded him to attend the 75th anniversary commemoration.
Everyone who experienced the Dec. 7 attack has a different story. But every year there are fewer of them able to tell those stories.
About 30 attended the 80th anniversary commemoration in 2021. This year alone, 18 known Pearl Harbor survivors died.
Sterling Cale, the last known survivor living in Hawaii, died in January at age 102 and was buried at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe. Lou Conter, the last surviving crew member of the USS Arizona, also died at age 102 at his home in California in April.
In a keynote address, Nikki Stratton, granddaughter of USS Arizona survivor Donald Stratton, who died in 2020 at age 97, said he “faced unimaginable adversity aboard the Arizona. His survival was a testament to the grit, compassion and loyalty of those who fought beside him and risked everything to save others.”
Only 16 known service members who survived the attack remain, according to a list maintained by Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. Eight other World War II veterans who weren’t present for the attack attended Saturday’s ceremony. It’s estimated that next year there will be fewer than 1,000 living American World War II veterans.
Pearl Harbor National Memorial Superintendent Tom Leatherman reflected on their waning numbers. “I’m sure Lou and many of the other survivors would have said we have to forge ahead and continue to ensure we continue to remember Pearl Harbor,” he said. “We need to be even more diligent to make sure that the stories, legacy and diverse history of Pearl Harbor will be shared at this site and beyond for all time.”
Service members weren’t the only ones who lost their lives during the attacks. On Oahu, 49 civilians died and 35 were wounded in the crossfire. Several civilian homes and properties also were damaged by stray munitions fired by both Japanese and American forces.
After the Pearl Harbor assault, the U.S. government put Hawaii under martial law. Throughout the war, isle residents lived under strict curfews and rationing. Some were forced out of their homes so the military could use their land as training grounds and live-fire ranges. Many young men from the islands also fought in the war, both as volunteers and draftees.
After Saturday’s official remembrance event concluded, a Maui family held a smaller traditional Hawaiian ceremony of their own on the memorial grounds to remember four members of their family who died during the Dec. 7 attack: David Kaho‘okele, Joseph McCabe, John Adams and his father, Joseph Adams.
All four were civilian dockworkers employed at Pearl Harbor who were killed by friendly fire — an apparent dud anti-aircraft round that landed on their car as they were making their way to the base.
Shanna Kaho‘okele Tachera, the grandniece of David Kaho‘okele, said that despite living in Hawaii all her life and knowing the story of how her relatives died, she had never actually set foot at Pearl Harbor.
She said that family matriarch Dorothy Kamalu Kaho‘okele had worked to preserve their ohana’s history, collecting newspaper clippings and photos, which they brought and displayed next to the plaque honoring the civilian dead.
“Our auntie has cried every year on this day; she tells us about it,” Kaho‘okele Tachera explained.
The family had intended to bring Dorothy Kaho‘okele to Pearl Harbor for the ceremony, but she was hospitalized on Maui last week.
“For me, this brings healing,” Kaho‘okele Tachera said. “It brings healing to kupuna that have already gone, those that are still alive to see this happen and to pave the way for our keiki to see where they come from. That’s a legacy.”
