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World War II veteran remembers Pearl Harbor, recalling moments after the attack

Jack Holder (left) Courtesy: Thomas Baldrick

Valley native Jack Holder was only 20-years-old serving in the US Navy when Japanese fighter pilots attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7.

“We ran into the ditch, started clinging to each other, and one of the fighter pilots hit the ditch with machine-gun fire and missed us by 3 feet,” Holder remembered.

He was on duty at Ford Island and says he will never forget the moments after he heard the first loud bang.

"I remember all the sites I have seen. December 7th started all the ships sinking, all of our aircraft on fire, all the people dying in the water," he said.

Holder was supposed to be in Hawaii commemorating those losses on the 75th anniversary of the day World War II officially ended on Sept. 2, 1945.

Due to the coronavirus, he's not able unable to be there, but he wanted to share his story.

He talks about the lessons he's learned from that time in history.

"I tell the young folks, we live in the greatest country in the world and we don’t want anything like this to happen in the world," he said.