Pearl Harbor Attack, December 7, 1941: ‘A Date Which Will Live In Infamy,’ Survivors Are Over 90 Years Old

“Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941: A date which will live in infamy…no matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion…the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.”

With those words,President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a shocked nation the following day, December 8, reassured the nation that justice would be done, and declared war on Japan. Now, as we commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the worst attack on American soil — up until that point — survivors reunited at the site to remember their fallen comrades.

More than a dozen Pearl Harbor survivors — who are now more than 90-years-old — came together in Hawaii to share stories of bravery and heroism after the surprise attack by the Japanese on that fateful day. As the years have passed, there have been conspiracy theories suggesting the military had intelligence indicating the enemy’s intent, however, the plan succeeded in taking the United States by surprise.

When all was said and done, the Pearl Harbor attack resulted in the deaths of 2,400 sailors, Marines, and soldiers. Those who survived will never forget the brutal attack, and they gathered this year to commemorate what was called the last meeting for the USS Arizona Reunion Association.

Taking part in the events will be the nine survivors who were on board the USS Arizona, the battleship that was sunk in the attack and now lays at the bottom of the ocean holding more than 900 bodies of those who perished. But Pearl Harbor survivor, Louis Conter, 93, doesn’t feel this is the end for them.

“I don’t think this is going to be our last…. We’ve still got time to go. We’ll be back out here no matter whether the rest of the crowd can make it or not.”

“The good Lord saved just a few of us,” said Donald Stratton, 92, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was one of the few survivors of the gun control station in the front of the ship. Stratton was hospitalized for more than year with burns to more than 65 percent of his body, after which he was medically discharged from the Navy.

During a private event Sunday, the survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack will toast their shipmates, drinking from replicas of champagne glasses from the USS Arizona, according to Fox News. They will share a bottle of sparkling wine — a gift to the survivors association from President Gerald Ford in 1975.

“I learned something about faith,” said Pearl Harbor survivor John Anderson, 97, of Roswell, New Mexico, while Conter added “It’s always like yesterday when we’re out here.”

As we remember the sacrifice of America’s fallen on Pearl Harbor Day, we stand to salute the brave men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who defend our nation in both war and peace. We thank you for your service and your loyalty to our great nation. Wherever the light of freedom shines, your courage illuminates the way.

[Image via U.S. Navy/Wikipedia]