Pearl Harbor survivor Thomas Talbott tossed a memorial wreath from the decks of the Coast Guard Cutter Taney on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack that drew the United States into World War II.
Then a Navy musician played taps, and a rifle salute sent gulls squealing into the air overhead.
About 150 guests joined Talbott and other veterans of the World War II crew of the Taney, the last vessel still afloat to have fought in the attack, and dozens of passers-by paused on Pier 5 to mark the moment. The ceremony was one of dozens held across the country Wednesday to mark the anniversary, including events in Hawaii and on the National Mall in Washington.
2,403 Americans lost their lives in the surprise attack on a Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, and 1,178 were wounded. The assault, launched by Japanese carriers bearing hundreds of aircraft, left the U.S. Pacific Fleet battered.
Marine Maj. Gen. John Broadmeadow, commander of Marine Corps Installations Command, said Wednesday it remained important to remember the sacrifices of those who fought in World War II — and to remember that the country must guard against future threats.
“Generations of men and women have fought and died to ensure those freedoms,” Broadmeadow said. “We must remember that lack of preparedness, forgetting that freedom doesn’t come freely, invites our enemies to challenge our way of life.”
Talbott was a 19-year-old Marine corporal working guard duty at the time of the attack. Illness has left him barely able to speak, but Paul Travers, who has collected the memories of Pearl Harbor survivors, described how Talbott tried to rescue sailors from the water.
“He watched in disbelief as torpedoes fell from the sky and Battleship Row erupted into a fireball,” Travers said.
The Taney itself was based nearby in Honolulu. The crew scrambled to respond to the attack, engaging the Japanese planes with anti-aircraft guns.
Broadmeadow praised their bravery. He asked the visitors on board the Taney on Wednesday to imagine themselves in the place of Coast Guardsmen 75 years ago.
“Put yourself in Honolulu on that beautiful Sunday morning,” he said. “Suddenly the idyllic peacefulness of that beautiful island was ripped apart suddenly and violently by screaming airplanes and exploding bombs.”
Broadmeadow said the crew didn’t shrink from their jobs.
“Imagine what it must have felt like, working hard to shoot down those enemy aircraft who were attacking their comrades, keeping your fear in check while they strafed you,” Broadmeadow said, “only to hear, see and feel the explosions that ripped apart the USS Arizona, a large and powerful battleship that must have dwarfed the Taney.
“American servicemen and women throughout that island fought back that day bravely. These brave Americans fought on despite the surprise attack and overwhelming odds. They ended that bloodied and battered. Our country was shocked, but we were not broken.”
While the Japanese fleet managed to sink or badly damage many American ships, the attack did not achieve its objective of dealing a swift knockout blow to the Pacific Fleet.
The U.S. carriers in the fleet were at sea during the attack and escaped unscathed. Most of the damaged ships were repaired and put back into service. After nearly four years of war, Japan surrendered, and the United States and its allies emerged victorious.
” ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ became a rallying cry as America fought back against tyranny,” Broadmeadow said.
