The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. HARLOW: Neuman says there will still be remembrance ceremonies after all survivors have died or can no longer attend, but those remembrances will be different.įor NPR News, I'm Casey Harlow in Honolulu.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. We believe that any generation can be the greatest generation if they hold those same values and they respond the way that this generation did. They were just a generation that valued the things that we value. They didn't have something in their blood that made them better than anybody else. While this year's event is a milestone, he says it's important to remember that what the greatest generation really did was simply rise to the occasion. Jim Neuman is an historian with the Navy in Hawaii. Eighty years after the attack, many believe this might be the last time most survivors will be able to return to Pearl Harbor given the age of those service members. Over the years, fewer survivors have been returning. It's an anniversary even more somber than usual. HARLOW: Malone's group is one of several that are bringing survivors and their caretakers to Hawaii this year. And all of their individual lives changed at that moment. MALONE: This was the event that launched us into the Second World War and reshaped our entire world as we know it today. HARLOW: Michael Malone is a coordinator with the nonprofit Best Defense Foundation. MICHAEL MALONE: This is such a monumental commemoration. He joins more than 120 World War II veterans who are making an emotional trip this year. He's one of more than 30 Pearl Harbor survivors attending this year's Remembrance Day ceremony on the island of Oahu. HARLOW: Matsumoto was trained in intelligence and served in the Army. MATSUMOTO: Because they were the aggressor, yeah? Because at that time, Honolulu here was two-thirds Japanese. He also recalls the reaction of residents to being attacked by Japan. HARLOW: When the smoke cleared, Matsumoto saw Japanese aircraft attacking Pearl Harbor, even seeing the faces of some pilots. RALPH MATSUMOTO: All those - the anti-aircraft shells were falling back on the city, blew up. Casey Harlow from Hawaii Public Radio reports this year's Pearl Harbor commemoration could be the last time a large group of survivors is able to attend.ĬASEY HARLOW, BYLINE: On the morning of December 7, 1941, Ralph Matsumoto was 20 years old. But the passage of time means there are fewer people with firsthand memories. During that two-hour surprise attack by the Japanese, more. Decemmarks the 80th anniversary of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the United States’ entry into World War II. Every year, military veterans return to the island of Oahu to mark the occasion. Let’s take time today on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor to honor our Alaska Pioneer Home residents who served in World War II. Today marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
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