No Survivors Attend Pearl Harbor Ceremony This Year
This year, none of the 12 U.S. service members, all over the age of 100, who survived the Pearl Harbor attack were able to make it to the ceremony in Hawaii. It’s quite disheartening, really, as it marks a troubling trend where fewer survivors are able to participate in the commemoration of that infamous day. Apart from 2020, when the pandemic halted public gatherings, this is the first year without any survivors present.
“It’s so heartbreaking—really, beyond words,” Kimberly Heinrichs expressed. Her father, Ira “Ike” Shabb, who is 105, fell ill and couldn’t make the trip from Oregon.
The attack on December 7, 1941, involved roughly 87,000 troops stationed on Oahu, and resulted in the deaths of over 2,300 soldiers, propelling the United States into World War II.
During the 50th anniversary in 1991, about 2,000 survivors gathered to honor their fallen comrades. Last year, only two survivors, including Shabb, were able to attend. He proudly shared that he could still stand on his own and salute the sailors, saying, “It was an honor to do it. I’m glad I was able to stand up. I’m getting older too.”
Vaughn P. Drake Jr., the oldest survivor, passed away earlier this year at the age of 106. Efforts are being made to keep the stories of Pearl Harbor survivors alive—similar to initiatives for veterans of the Civil War and World War I.
In the 1998 convention, former National Park Service Pearl Harbor historian Daniel Martinez conducted around 800 interviews with survivors in a mere three days. Some of these interviews are accessible at the Pearl Harbor Museum in Hawaii, while the Library of Congress houses an extensive collection of interviews, letters, photographs, and diaries from 535 survivors, most available online.
A group called Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors is committed to keeping the memories of their loved ones alive. “If they’re gone, we’ll still be here,” said Deirdre Kelly, who leads the California chapter. “And it is our intention to keep that memory alive as long as we live.”
