Pearl Harbor 65 Years Later

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

I found this sort of interesting. Mostly the last quote where they say we're seeing the passing of a whole generation. It's amazing how this event is now passing into "History" before our eyes. That soon anyone who was there will be gone and all the memories of that day will be only in text books and film. All those personal stories will be lost. Just amazing. No more "where were you..."



With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy.

The survivors have met in Pearly Harbor every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion.

The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is now losing members to age at the rate of two a day.

"I suspect not many people have thought about this, but we're witnessing history," said Daniel Martinez, chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial. "We are seeing the passing of a generation."



http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/07/national/main2237342.shtml

[DreadPirateRoberts]

A close family friend of ours was at Pearl Harbor. She passed away 2 weeks ago.

[Alex]

Eh, there are still decades of it to go. Every year I have to go to great lengths to avoid the annual "where they were" stories of people who went through the 1906 earthquake.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Seems to me, anything that didn't happen in my own time is ancient history. Not to discount these happenings - it's just that I can't fathom being around when JFK was shot just as much as I can't fathom being around for the American Revolution.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Oh I' avoid the rehashing and all - that's not my point of the post. Simply stating that if you consider what the top5 major events of the last century, this was a fairly big one. JFK, yeah for sure. John Lennon, yes. 1906 SF earthquake -- eh, not really in the top 20. But I see what you mean. I think it's interesting to reflect on the experiance of what they went thru and that those who went thru all that hardship are almost all gone and alot of those stories will die with them.

[Strangler Lewis]

John Lennon, yes.
Don't forget Rebecca Schaeffer.

[Kevy Baby]

Don't forget Rebecca Schaeffer.Or Marcelo Torres

[BarTopDancer]

Oh I' avoid the rehashing and all - that's not my point of the post. Simply stating that if you consider what the top5 major events of the last century, this was a fairly big one. JFK, yeah for sure. John Lennon, yes. 1906 SF earthquake -- eh, not really in the top 20. But I see what you mean. I think it's interesting to reflect on the experiance of what they went thru and that those who went thru all that hardship are almost all gone and alot of those stories will die with them.

I totally get what you are saying. The history will always be in books but the emotion, the real life stories will go with these people and it will become just another thing to learn about in history class just as some day 9/11 will become nothing more than a lesson in a history book.