Veterans gather at UA commemorate WWII

Jennifer Etsitty Arizona Daily Wildcat Members of the Ladies Auxiliary Fleet Reserve Association Beatrice Hart (left) and Dorothy Maurath honor the 45th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, yesterday in at Gallagher Theater. The battleship USS Arizona was hit seven times by the Japanese during the attack, killing 1,176 officers. The ship now rests at the bottom of the harbor.

About 300 people gathered in Gallagher Theatre to mourn the loss and celebrate the lives of the 2,008 U.S. troops who died December 7, 1941, in the Japanese sneak attack that got America involved in WWII.

"Today is a day to remember those that died and those that survived Pearl Harbor," said Tony Tonelli of the Fleet Reserve Association.

Forty-five years ago today, U.S. troops awoke at 7:55 a.m. to a Japanese attack on the south shores of Oahu, Hawaii.

The USS Arizona was one of 94 battleships that were docked when a Japanese attack force hit the harbor. The Arizona ship remains in Pearl Harbor as a memorial to the 1,510 service men aboard - only 15 of whom survived.

The remains of more than 100 bodies, which were recovered from the harbor, now rest in Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu. The grave markers indicate only the death date, "Unknown - December 7, 1941."

The bodies of the other 1,000 men were never found.

Lorraine Marks-Haislip, USS Arizona Reunion Association historian, yesterday explained a letter writing campaign to personalize the grave markers. She said she hopes all markers will eventually indicate all available information, including the date and location of death.

"How sad that the men gave their lives, and they (U.S. military) thought 'unknown' was good enough," she said.

Representatives from the Fleet Reserve Association, the Navy League of Tucson and the USS Arizona Reunion Association read poems about the bombing. The Sabbar Shrine Temple Band played a medley of patriotic songs, which was met with cheers from crying audience members.

Tom Flanik, president of the northwest region of the Fleet Reserve Association, said it is important to keep the memory of Pearl Harbor alive.

"We need to remember what happened," he said. "Mourning needs to be done and respect shown for the people."

Stephanie Corns can be reached via e-mail at Stephanie.Corns@wildcat.arizona.edu.