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Take time to preserve their memories

This Wednesday, the nation, and quite possibly the world, will take time to remember the surprise attack by the Japanese on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, as well as the 2,403 U.S. citizens who were killed.

That day, 75 years ago, thrust the United States into World War II.

Coordinated with similar attacks on the Philippines, Guam and Wake Island, as well as British locations in the Pacific, Pearl Harbor involved two waves of Japanese aircraft attacking the base shortly before 8 a.m.

It’s goal was to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet in the hopes it would prevent our military from interfering in Japanese operations.

Close to 20 ships sustained some type of damage during the attack, including eight battleships, one former battleship, three cruisers, three destroyers and three auxiliary ships.

Probably the most famous of those ships was the U.S.S. Arizona, which exploded after being hit with four bombs. A memorial is now located over the wreckage.

Other battleships included the Oklahoma, the West Virginia, the California, the Nevada, the Pennsylvania, the Tennessee and the Maryland. All but the Arizona and Oklahoma were able to return to service. The U.S.S. Utah, a former battleship used for training at the time of the attack, also was a total loss.

It is a time to remember a great loss to our nation, as well as a turning point in world history.

As we approach the 75th anniversary of the “day which will live in infamy,” I am sure there will be many services held across the nation to pay tribute to those who were there, and especially those who were lost.

Several years ago, I had the privilege to sit down with one of our local veterans who was at Pearl Harbor the day of the attack.

Clyde DiAngelo Sr. passed in 2013, but in 2001 I was able to interview him about his memories of that fateful day. A Marine in the 4th Defense Battalion, he had arrived at Pearl Harbor only a few days prior, and told of his activities that morning as the Japanese planes approached and the attack commenced.

I still have a copy of that article, in which DiAngelo also discussed his continued service in the South Pacific until finishing his time in the military in 1945.

Another Weirton native, Charles Badis, also was at Pearl Harbor as part of the 84th Medic Unit. His unit is said to have captured the first Japanese prisoners of war during World War II. He was among those on guard duty when two Japanese submariners staggered onto the beach.

Badis died in 2008 while living in Dundalk, Md.

Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer veterans who were there that day and still with us. That is why it is important to find ways to record their memories, and those of all veterans for that matter, before they are gone for good.

Our newspapers, in fact, worked to reach out to several area veterans groups, and none of them knew of any local, living veterans who were at Pearl Harbor.

We are quickly losing the Greatest Generation, and many have not taken the time to record their thoughts and recollections from those years.

I imagine a relative few thought to take the time to journal their experiences while serving overseas during World War II. There are letters, of course, and those which still exist are a valued treasure.

Efforts have been made throughout the United States to interview veterans for various books, documentaries and other projects.

It is always best to have the first-hand accounts of world events. It is something which is more common and possible with today’s technology.

I would encourage our residents, before it is too late, to take the time to speak to your family members who have served. Try to talk to them about their time in the military, take notes or even get audio and video records of the conversations in order to better preserve them.

These men and women were witnesses to history. These are thoughts which should never be lost.

(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)

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