Posted on 12/08/2003 5:43:53 AM PST by SandRat
Photos by Kelly Presnell / Staff
Navy League Sea Cadet Evan Dundas bows his head in prayer during the USS Arizona remembrance at the University of Arizona.
Adm. Vern Clark pays homage. "For most of us the thought of all of that is just simply beyond comprehension," he said.
Before a large crowd gathered silently on the UA campus, the bell from the USS Arizona tolled in remembrance, marking the 62nd anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
About 2,000 civilians and military personnel attended Sunday morning's event to recall the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, and pay respects to those who died on the ship.
In its 50th year, the USS Arizona Memorial Service is considered the largest of its kind in the country except for Pearl Harbor's annual event.
Seven of the ship's survivors were joined at the ceremony by keynote speaker Adm. Vern Clark, the Navy's chief of naval operations.
Clark thanked the ship's survivors and called on the crowd to remember them and the 1,177 crewmen who died aboard the Arizona as an example of the bravery and sacrifice necessary to maintain freedom.
He drew connections between World War II and the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
"I can only think of what it must have been like . . . for most of us the thought of all of that is just simply beyond comprehension," Clark said about the attack. "We extend again the thanks of a grateful nation for that fateful day and extend the promise that their sacrifice will be honored . . . so that America will remain a beacon of hope and a lighthouse of freedom."
The United States finds itself in a spot much like it did in the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Clark said.
"The length of this war will not be measured in days or months but in years or even decades," said Clark, "If we follow the examples set by the proud veterans of the Arizona sitting behind me on this very stage, we will not falter."
The men who died in the bombing of the USS Arizona account for half of the casualties in the Pearl Harbor attack. Most of the crewmen killed during the attack, including eight Arizona men, are still entombed in the ship, which sits on the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
USS Arizona survivor Joseph Langdell, 89, remembers watching in horror from nearby Ford Island, where he was on temporary duty, as the burning ship sank 100 yards away.
Then a 26-year-old Navy ensign, Langdell clearly recalls pulling 62 men from the water that night, many of whom were blackened by fuel, their skin charred and torn open by the explosions.
Langdell has been coming to the Tucson memorial from his home in Yuba City, Calif., since 1977 and said that he has seen the number of survivors slowly dwindle over the years. He said the memories of that day will haunt him forever.
"I try not to shed a lot of tears about it, but I'm sentimental," Langdell said, "It's just important to remember that we're the greatest country in the world because we have freedom and if we want to keep our freedom, we need to protect it."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.