The USS Arizona Memorial, built over the remains of the ship, now forms a centerpiece
of the World War Two Valor in the Pacific National Monument historic site.
For more than half a century, members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association gathered at the memorial every Dec. 7 to commemorate the attack by the Japanese that drew the United States into World War II. But no more. The 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack will be the last one marked by the survivors’ association. With a concession to the reality of time — of age, of deteriorating health and death — the association will disband on Dec. 31.
Harry R. Kerr, the director of the Southeast chapter, said there weren’t enough survivors left to keep the organization running.
The fact that this moment was inevitable has made this no less a difficult year for the survivors, some of whom are concerned that the event that defined their lives will soon be just another chapter in a history book, with no one left to go to schools and Rotary Club luncheons to offer a firsthand testimony of that day.
The attack on Pearl Harbor killed nearly 2,400 people, wounded 1,178 others, sank or heavily damaged a dozen U.S. warships and destroyed 323 aircraft, badly crippling the Pacific fleet. It was one of the most significant events of the 20th century.