Pearl Harbor – 75 years later I


n 2013, centenarian and U.S. Navy veteran Raymond Chavez began his regimen


with a personal trainer. His goal: to be in the best shape he could be to make the trek back in Oahu, Hawaii, for the commemoration of the 75 years it had been since he was a mine sweeper stationed at Pearl Harbor. T en 29, Chavez experienced the fi re and explosions of the Japanese attack that catapulted the United States into World War II. On December 7, 2016, he was one of the few remaining survivors of the attack. Another soldier, John D. Anderson, who was


stationed along with his twin brother aboard the USS Arizona, also survived the attack. His twin did not.


Delbert “Jake” Anderson, rests below the ocean, still 24 and still aboard the battleship. He is one of many of the 1,177 sailors who never escaped the attack. When John died last year, his wish was to rejoin


his brother. And on December 7 of 2016, he did. USS Arizona survivors can have their ashes interred there by divers.


Among the veterans,


VFW National Commander-in-Chief Brian Duffy and VFW Auxiliary National President Colette Bishop presented a VFW wreath aboard the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. They were in Hawaii for the 75th commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor.


military personnel and others paying tribute to the many whose lives were tragically cut short that day were VFW Auxiliary National President Colette Bishop and VFW National Commander-in- Chief Brian Duff y. T is last cardinal anniversary of the attack for World War II survivors, Duff y said, was very emotional.


“To be able to look into the water see the


hull of the ship and to see the slick from the oil that still comes up, you really start to grasp the magnitude of what happened that day.” It is also a reminder that every day it is so


important to remember and respect all of our veterans who have given so much to fi ght for America’s freedom. “It was heart wrenching,” Bishop said, “to be


there at that site on that day and realize that you’re looking at the remains of the USS Arizona and all the men who didn’t make it out.”


March 2017 | 7


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