Pearl Harbor attack survivor attends memorial service in Arizona
PHOENIX - The men and women who served during the Pearl Harbor attack are almost all gone. A recent estimate put the number of survivors at about 2,500. The youngest of which would be in their 90s today.
And to honor those killed in the attack, a special memorial was held at Kilo Pier in Hawaii. Thousands of military personnel, World War II veterans and family gathered to observe a moment of silence at the exact time the Japanese attack began.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey was also in Hawaii for the anniversary. And while President Obama wasn't at the ceremony, he is expected to visit the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial later this month with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Here in Arizona, a memorial for the attack on Pearl Harbor took place at Wesley Bolin Plaza at the State Capitol. Among the people in attendance was a woman who lived in Hawaii. She was just 12 years old at the time of the attack.
87-year-old Marge Nelson used to live in Navy housing at Pearl Harbor. Her dad ran a school for Navy radio operators. She was asleep at a friend's house the night of the attack and vividly remembers coming face to face with a Japanese fighter pilot.
"The pilot that was flying his Zero by.. he turned and looked at me.. I mean we were about as close as you and I are and that's when I knew because I saw the rising sun on the airplane," she said.
Marge's family was on the other side of the island. She didn't see her dad for five days.
"A lot of confusion.. were told the water was poisoned that we'd been invaded, all of this kind of thing.. it was really scary," she said.
Marge's mom, a nurse, cared for the harbor's wounded and dying.
"The guys would say to her, please ma'am, would you, and they'd give her money and addresses and mementos they wanted her to contact their families."
Marge says she can't stand looking at photos from the attack or hear the sound of guns, but spoke to honor our vets.
"I love them all... yeah..."