My thanks to Barry Simpson from the 509th Parachute Infantry Association for posting a link via Facebook to a newspaper article in the Birmingham Press Register. This was how I found out that this year will make the last formal December 7th ceremony for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association chapters around the country. This is the 70th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. With most of their members in their nineties, and fewer and fewer able to attend events, the national organization and many local chapters plan to disband on December 31st of this year.
I find this news saddens me more than I thought it would. December 7th is not only “Pearl Harbor Day,” but also signals the anniversary of the United States’ entry to the Second World War. As a student of this war, the most tumultuous event of the twentieth century that set the stage for the Cold War and formed our current international landscape, I hope that despite the passing of our veterans we will continue to honor the day and remember the sacrifice.
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