Attack On Pearl Harbor Still Vivid For Survivors

The passing of 68 years has not dulled the memories of those who endured the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which ushered the United States into World War II.

Ed Johann will always remember the sound of bombing planes, explosions and the screams of sailors. The 86-year-old retired firefighter is due to return to Pearl Harbor Monday morning for the first time since the war.

Richard Fiske, a gunner on the USS West Virginia, says the Japanese pilots flew so low he made eye contact with one of them that Sunday morning in 1941. He says he’s dreamt about that face for more than 50 years.

The Japanese attack sank four American battleships and destroyed 188 planes. Four other battleships were damaged, along with three cruisers and three destroyers. More than 2,200 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed, many of whom are still entombed in the submerged USS Arizona.

For the United States, the war would last for three years and nine months more, until the Japanese surrendered in September of 1945.