While I appreciate that they gave him the respect he deserves, I don’t like him being characterized as a “survivor.” Our culture turns everyone into a passive victim or survivor. This man fought back and helped win a war.
I agree. I have taken to calling the “survivors” of the attack on Pearl, “defenders”. The two defenders that I have spoken to seem to prefer that title.
http://www.pearlharborsurvivorsonline.org
The first meeting of what would become the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association took place on December 7, 1954 at the Del Camino Room in Gardena, California where several survivors of the attack gathered to remember their fallen comrades and dear friends. It was at this first meeting that those in attendance swore that they would make the commemoration an annual event. At the official founding dinner in 1958, the eleven survivors who were present at the 1954 meeting were proclaimed the Founding Fathers of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Those eleven survivors were: Mark Ferris, Ed Steffa, Samuel Kronberger, Edward Kronberger, Robert Kronberger, George Haines Jr., Raymond LeBer, James C. Taneyhill, Clarence Bonn, George Schafer, and Louis P. Smith. Following the 1958 meeting, the members began searching for other military survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack. The first organized convention was held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California where over 300 survivors joined in commemoration of the event. Over 1,000 survivors attended the convention held at the Lafayette Hotel in Long Beach California December 7 1962. At this meeting, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association constitution was presented and ratified by the members. Mark Ferris was the association’s first National President. The organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of California and the PHSA National Insignia was registered in Washington DC.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor_Survivors_Association