Secretary of State Mark Martin honored three living World War II veterans with Capitol Citations on Sunday during a commemoration of the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
More than 2,400 people, including 51 Arkansans, died when Japan conducted a surprise strike on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Twenty-one Arkansans remain entombed in the wreckage of the USS Arizona, one of the worst-hit battleships, Martin said.
Martin gave citations Sunday to three Arkansans who survived the attack: Walter Smith, 96; W.M. "Bill" Chase, 90; and Kay Matthews, 92. He also asked for a moment of silence for Marvin Kauffman, an Army veteran and survivor of the attack who died Nov. 28 at age 100.
"As you all know, there are not many survivors who remain today with us to tell of the momentous events that occurred on that infamous day in American history," Martin said. "The stories told by survivors like Bill, Walter and Kay forever connected us with the hearts and souls lost."
About 100 people gathered in the Capitol rotunda for Sunday's commemoration. The Natural State Brass Band played, a Mabelvale Boy Scout troop led the Pledge of Allegiance and two members of the Fleet Reserve Association led a "Two Bell Ceremony" to reflect on their shipmates who died that day.
Chase, a Navy veteran from Hot Springs, said he has attended the commemoration every year for the past decade to pay his respects to those who died.
At age 17, Chase said, he was "one of the young ones" at Pearl Harbor during the attack. When the first wave of bombs hit, Chase was in a naval hospital recovering from German measles.
"It's a sad day," Chase said. "I try not to think about it. It was ... I can't put it in words. It was awful and it changed the world."
Steve Gray, a retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force and military liaison for Sen. John Boozman's office, told the crowd about events leading up to the attack and gave a timeline of what happened on Dec. 7, 1941 -- a date President Franklin Roosevelt had said would "live in infamy."
"Without Pearl Harbor, you wouldn't have had the U.S. in the war," Gray said. "And without the U.S., the Brits, the Russians and all of Africa and Asia would fall and the world would have seen tyranny, oppression, despotism and slaughter."
Most of the death and destruction at Pearl Harbor happened in the first three minutes of the 110-minute attack, Gray said. Nineteen U.S. battleships were sunk or badly damaged, 80 Navy aircraft were destroyed, and the Army's 23 bombers and 63 fighter aircraft were "obliterated."
He said "true heroes" rose from the attack. Nurses and cooks who had never fired weapons manned anti-aircraft guns, and civilians later stood in line waiting to give blood to "save their neighbors."
"It foretold of the American resolve that would be happening in the next few years," Gray said. "We will always remember this day for those who lost their lives and for those we saved."
Metro on 12/08/2014