Transcripts For CSPAN3 Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemo

Minutes. Ust under 90 good morning, ladies and totlemen, and welcome todays joint National Park Service United states Navy National pearl harbor Remembrance Day ceremony. Robert franklin and i am truly honored to serve as todays master of ceremonies historic 75th anniversary. Honorings theme is the past, inspiring the future. Will pay tribute to those members of the greatest generation who paved the way here in pearl harbor for current and future generations world. Out the will the guests please rise, as able, for the arrival of the party. L for todaysparty ceremony includes ms. Jacquelyn superintendent, world war ii valor in the Pacific National monument, National Park service. Ms. Laura joss, regional pacific west region, National Parks service. [bells] and navalgion Hawaii Service group middle pacific arriving. [bell] United States Pacific Command arriving. Please are seated. Ladies and gentlemen, it is on december 7, that we observe a moment of at 0755 to commemorate the attacks off pearl harbor. You will hear u. S. S. Halsey the ships whistle. Please join me at that time in heads for a moment of silence to remember those who courageously fought and those december 7,e on 1941. Completing the moment of silence f22 raptors executing a flyover formation from memorialnd the arizona and continuing over fort island in honor of those who gave their of theirdefense country here 75 years ago today. You may see one a lot fly into to honor the lives lost please rise, as able, for morning colors and the singing of our National Anthem by petty officer third class Steven Lamonica and the United States our stateeet band and miss telaai. D by buglers, sound attention. Color guard, parade the colors. Left, left, left, right. Left, right. Left, left, left, right. Left, left, left, right. Left, right. Right. Eft, left, right. Eft, left, right. Eft, left, our National Anthem. O, say can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh, say does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave [applause] standing forain the singing of hawaiis state song. Hawaii ponoi nana i kou, moi kalani alii, ke alii makua lani e kamehameha e na kaua e pale me ka i he makua lani e kamehameha e na kaua e pale me ka i he seated. E are [applause] approaching you will see the guided missile destroyer u. S. S. By commanderded of bridgeport, connecticut. Earlier this morning uss halsey rendered honors to the uss utah memorial. Since december 7th, 1941, uss utah and uss arizona are the only two ships that remain in the harbor with Service Members entombed. Returning honors was pearl harbor survivor gil meyer he represented fellow u. S. S. Utah survivors who are here with us today, bill hughes and louis underwood, as well as all utah Service Members. It is customary for ships passing the uss arizona memorial to pay their respects by rendering honors. Today, in addition to rendering honors to the u. S. S. Arizona memorial, u. S. S. Halse will also render honor to the pearl harbor who have gathered with us today. Mr. Donald stratton, escorted by petty officer first class Juan Rodriguez and National Park chief historian mr. Daniel martinez is ready to return honors as a representative for all pearl harbor survivors. Mr. Stratton is a former crew member of the u. S. S. Arizona. When the attacks started, then 19yearold firstclass seaman stratton had just finished breakfast. When he saw the japanese planes topside he ran to his battle station even before the generals quarter alarm sounded. During the attack, don stratton suffered severe burns on over 60 of his body. Following the attack, mr. Stratton spent nearly a year recovering from his injuries yet chose to return to sea as soon as he was able. Mr. Stratton reported to uss stack as gunners mate and continued his service through the end of the war. Mr. Stratton made the journey back to pearl harbor with his family to honor his fallen crew members and reconnect with old friends. Hes one of five known remaining pearl harbor survivors of uss arizona, and he stands on stage today for all pearl harbor survivors. All pearl harbor survivors and other world ii veterans invited to stand as able. Mr. Stratton will now return the salute to uss halsey. [applause] carry on. Pearl harbor survivors and world war ii veterans, please be seated. We thank the uss halsey and 199th and 19th fighter squadrons for participating in todays ceremony. In the hawaiian culture, the religious leader or spiritual advisor is known as a kahu. Today were pleased to have for our invocation a hawaiian blessing offered. [speaking Foreign Language] our Eternal Father in heaven [speaking Foreign Language] good morning, heavenly father. Our dear creator, my blessing this day is for the sacred presence of our pearl harbor survivors who are physically here. My prayer also is dedicated to the great heroes who lost their lives that day. Were also spiritually here sitting and walking among us. Heavenly father, i come before for bly and ask to make things right finally and righteous and to ask for a forgiveness. For the pain and suffering has been so long. And in doing so [speaking Foreign Language] there shall be a commitment beginning from this day for peace. And in this peace, it shall translate to world peace. Gracious and heavenly father, enough of wars. For here on this sacred day before you, we all come humbly and ask for [ speaking Foreign Language ] to love one another. Until we are received into your fold, allow us to be at peace. Humbly i ask and say these things in thy sacred name. Amen and amen. For the past 35 years, japan religious committee for World Federation has offered a prayer for peace on this occasion. We are honored to once again have them here as part of the ceremony. Reverend sunikeo tanaka will offer the prayer followed by the english translation by miss maya perry. [speaking japanese] in 1982, our organization, the japan religious committee for World Federation participated in a religion conference in new york city, and we also visited pearl harbor at that time. This is our 35th year to offer prayers for peace and consolation to the arizona memorial. This year commemorates the 75th anniversary of pearl harbor attacks and the 71st anniversary of the end of world war ii. It is the most appropriate time to reflect on our shared past, so that the great wisdom and Lessons Learned from history may be passed on to future generations. We are gathered here today in the name of peace. Given how our countries were sworn enemies at one point in time, this is a most remarkable thing. We are living proof that time heals, that it is possible to become the best of friends and allies and to have the deepest consideration and trust for one another. After the g7 summit in japan this may, president obama took the time to visit hiroshima. In his speech for peace, he said there is a future we can choose in which hiroshima and nagasaki are known not as the dawn of atomic warfare but as the start of our own moral awakening. Working together to share the wisdom of our forebears is paramount. We all must do whatever we can so world peace can be achieved for the sake of humanity. Let us pray. May lasting peace prevail in the world and may all of mankind know true happiness. May we all live together peacefully in this home that we share and may our planet become a shining beacon of love, compassion, joy, and sincerity for all. Thank you very much. [applause] todays National Pearl harbor Remembrance Day commemoration is cohosted, as it has been since 2005, by the National Parks service and United States navy. Here to share in official welcome on behalf of the National Park service is jacqueline ashwell, superintendent of the world war ii valor in the Pacific National monument, who will introduce guest speaker miss laura joss, regional director for the pacific west region. Then our navy cohost rear admiral john fuller, Commander Navy region hawaii and Naval Surface group middle pacific will offer a navy welcome and introduce our keynote speaker admiral harry b. Harris jr. , commander United States Pacific Command. Ladies and gentlemen, miss jacqueline ashwell. [applause] ms. Ashwell aloha. It is my great pleasure to serve as a cohost and welcome you to the National Pearl harbor Remembrance Day commemoration marking the 75th anniversary of the attack on oahu. Among the dignitaries we welcome today, and ladies and gentlemen, if you could, please hold your applause until the end, the honorable david egay, governor hawaii, the honorable doug ducey, governor, state of arizona, the honorable ralph torres, governor, commonwealth the marianas islands. Glober,rable her shell former secretary of veterans affairs. Admiral john richardson, chief of Naval Operations. Admiral harry harris, commander, u. S. Pacific command. Admiral william fallon, former commander, u. S. Pacific command. Admiral thomas fargo, former commander, u. S. Pacific command. Admiral richard mackey, former commander, u. S. Pacific command. The honorable spencer cox, Lieutenant Governor, state of utah. The honorable Lieutenant Governor of hawaii. Chief justice, hawaii state supreme court. The honorable janine davidson, undersecretary of the navy. The honorable franklin parker, assistant secretary of the navy for manpower and reserve affairs. Admiral scott swift, commander, u. S. Pacific fleet. General robert brown, commanding general, u. S. Army pacific. General terrence oshaughnessy, commander, u. S. Pacific air forces. Lieutenant general david berger, commander, Marine Forces pacific. General david brenlan, former commander, u. S. Army forces command. Former commander, u. S. Pacific fleet. General gary north, former commander, u. S. Pacific air forces. The honorable kirk caldwell, mayor of the city and county of honolulu. The honorable bernard carbajo, mayor of the county of hawaii. The honorable mayor of nagahoka japan. Japan. Or of ugema city, members of the consular corps, the Senior Executive service and all other flag and elected andcers, appointed officials, business and community leaders, welcome. [applause] nestled along the waters of the lava stream is the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center where more than a million and a half guests come each year to learn the history of the pacific war. The National Park service is proud stewards of three memorials dedicated to the uss arizona, the uss oklahoma and the uss utah. Collectively, these and other memorials represent those who were lost on december 7, 1941. Over the years we have collected oral history interviews of hundreds of pearl harbor survivors, both military and civilian, other world war ii veterans, as well as japanese americans with ancestry incarcerated during the war. That library of recollections gives us the opportunity to share the stories of those who witnessed, fought, and died during the attack on oahu, or who were otherwise affected by the war. This morning, on this 75th anniversary, i will share the accounts of a few of those who experienced the attack. Their stories honor our past and inspire our future. James. S. S. Arizona, had a working party on the fan tail rigging the ship for Church Services that morning. The white canvas awning snapped in the breeze. The sun was warm. The clouds were high. L things considered, the day was perfect. In the distance, unidentified planes started coming in low from the southeast lock. Heavy, muffled explosions began booming down the line at ford find. Ensign joe, officer of the deck, pulled the alarm bell. He shouted over the p. A. System again and again, all hands, general quarters, air raid. This is no drill. On the west side of ford island, a young africanamerican mess attendant from the u. S. S. Utah named clark simmons, a friend of u. S. S. Win whys dory miller, heard about then witnessed the attack. Simmons recalled, there were several of us in the compartment. I looked out on the port side toward pearl city, and as i looked out the port, i saw a plane making a run for the utah. And as she dropped the torpedo, the wing dipped and then straightened up and the torpedo headed for the utah. Another one right behind it did the same thing. And as it hit the ship, we felt the jar. At that time the bugler sounded, man your battle stations. Well, our battle stations were below deck. When i first went down to what they called battle station, we were frightened. There was water coming into the ship. It was knee deep. It is just as vivid in my mind today as it was on that day. A few miles from pearl harbor a young woman, a young nurse, anna busby, found herself in a unique position. She was in the Army Nurse Corps but on this particular day she was a patient segraves care at tripler receiving care at tripler hospital. She recalled in her oral history, i was a patient that day, and i heard just i had just placed my breakfast tray on the flar when we heard all of these sounds. They sounded horrible. When the head nurse ran down the hall, i ran after her. When we got to the back porch, you could see all this smoke in pearl harbor. I heard her say, my god, the japanese are bombing pearl harbor. And i said, well, we will all need to be on duty. The days after the attack, the nurses of tripler treated a great number of the wounded and dying. In honolulu, caught in the crossfire of battle, a terrified community began to pull itself together and respond. Among the first to take action, the honolulu fire department. That day they responded to 39 call outs. Three companies of firefighters raced to hickham at 8 05 with military and federal crews battling multiple fires involving military aircraft, barracks, and hangars. The department lost three firefighters that day. Captain thomas macey of engine four, captain john carrera of engine one, and Hoseman Harry lee peng of engine 6. In time, the u. S. Government awarded purple hearts to those civilian firefighters injured and killed on december 7. The only u. S. Civilian firefighters in history to be so honored. Here in pearl harbor we watch over the memorials. We also preserve the memories of those who experience the attack so that their words will ive forever. The National Park service keeps americas memory of the war alive for future generations. We do so to honor the past and inspire the future. And to help the world learn the. Ssons of History Today our u. S. S. Arizona memorial stands for everyone who served in uniform during world war ii. The memorial you see across the harbor is a symbol of hope. It as symbol of respect. And resilience. It touches the best and greatest ideals in all of our hearts. In the words of the late historian michael slackman, today the u. S. S. Arizona stands as a reminder of the events of that sunday morning. It has different meanings for those that visit there. But to all of them it speaks silently and eloquently of the distance yet to be traveled before the world lives in peace. Thank you and aloha to all. [applause] now it is my pleasure to introduce our National Park Service Regional director for the pacific west region, ms. Laura joss. Ms. Joss oversees operations for 61 units, trails, and areas of our National Park system in six western states and in three territories of the pacific. We are able to do our jobs here in pearl harbor, preserving the memorials and the memories thanks to her lei and support. Ladies and gentlemen, ms. Laura joss. [applause] ms. Joss thank you, superintendent ashwell. Aloha. A bridge at concord. Golden fields of gettysburg. Waters at pearl harbor. These battlefields all share a common bond. They are sacred ground to the people of the United States. They are sacred sites to the department of National Park service who preserves their memories and shares it with the world. We gather at these places to remember, to understand, and to honor. As we commemorate this 75th anniversary pearl harbor, we recall the distant memories of wars and peace. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of americas best idea, the National Parks. From acadia National Park in maine to war in the Pacific National historical park in guam, parks serve the nation as places of retreat, wonder, discovery, and reflection. The history of the National Park Service Began with the countrys desire