Posted on 12/04/2006 6:00:58 PM PST by SandRat
Solemn words and patriotic music marked a UA ceremony Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of the USS Arizona's Dec. 7, 1941, demise.
At the University of Arizona, more than 100 people, many of them veterans or Boy Scouts, listened to speeches and poems chronicling the heroics of the 1,177 crew members who died with the sinking of the battleship in Hawaiian waters.
Thursday will mark 65 years since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor propelled the United States into World War II.
Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Meshel, of the Navy Operational Support Center in Tucson, compared the Japanese bombing to the Sept. 11 attacks five years ago in New York, in the District of Columbia and over Pennsylvania.
Both the 1941 and the 2001 attacks set into motion events that would drastically alter the course of the nation, he said.
Meshel noted that he has been to the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor and Ground Zero in New York City.
"The solemn contemplation you find at both locations is interchangeable, the mood is virtually identical, and many of the messages repeated," he said.
Meshel said that when he gazes at a painting of the sunken ship in his office, "I see not only a watery tomb of heroic men but also the settling dust and clearing smoke as our nation rebuilds. I see the catalyst of our nation's will."
UA President Robert Shelton said the university will make sure those who went down with the battleship are not forgotten.
"We are committed to upholding the memory of the Arizona and her crew as a living example of the price liberty sometimes exacts on us to ensure that it does not slip away," Shelton said.
The memory of the Pearl Harbor casualties must be preserved for the benefit of young people, said Jack Culp, a veteran of the Navy and Marines.
Added Staff Sgt. Gregory Ybarra, who played the trumpet with Fort Huachuca's 36th Army Band: "It's important that we don't forget what happened in the past, because if we do, we're doomed to fall into the same traps again."
*** Contact Lourdes Medrano at 573-4347 or lmedrano@azstarnet.com.
"..and young people must learn of this milestone in our nation's history."
Sadly enough, many young people never learned that there was a WWII.
I was 15 days old on 7 Dec 41.
My second cousin is in the Arizona.
My first cousin was a corpsman on the Arizona that was onshore the time of the attack. He spent the next three days working at a hospital until he collapsed from exhaustion. He died two years ago at a nursing home with Alzheimer's but ironically could remember December 7th as if it were yesterday.
Few understand how honored and blessed I've been. In 1999, I was teaching basic computer classes to older veterans... of my first six students, five were Pearl Harbor Survivors from the San Diego Chapter.
After the class graduated, I was TOLD.. "You WILL be an Honorary Member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association!!!" My only response was "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full"
Upon swearing the oath, especially the "Remember Pearl Harbor" part, I told myself I would not show up to any of their functions without a camera in-hand.
Through November of this year, I've taken more than 8,000 photos of the Survivors at parades, memorial services, monthly meetings and myriad other events.
Earlier this year, I was invited to attend the 65th Anniversary in Hawaii. Knowing the full scope of their dwindling numbers, I swore that this time, I would "go loaded for bear"... which I did.
Accompanying 39 Surivovrs, numerous spouses, family and guests, I spent six days in Hawaii shooting photos as fast as my finger could push the button.
During those six days, I took between 7,000 and 8,000 digital photos... (haven't had time to count them all)... new grand total is more than 15,000 photos.
I swore the oath to "Remember Pearl Harbor" in front of more than 100 Survivors and spouses... and God willing, I'll someday be able to publish my collection of photographs of these American treasures... many of whom I am so honored, blessed, and humbled to call my dear friends.
Callsign Hardball
U.S. Navy Veteran
Desert Shield/Desert Storm
Honorary Pearl Harbor Survivor
Carnation Chapter 3 San Diego, CA
L
Where? Anywhere near Tucson, Nogales, Benson,...??????
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