VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Among the approximately 2,400 known Pearl Harbor survivors across the country, five are right in Hampton Roads.
"We didn't realize we were going to be involved in a war at the time, but that's what we signed up for, to represent our country," says Bill Muehleib, a Hampton Roads Pearl Harbor veteran.
The group of men were honored at a remembrance ceremony at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story on Monday.
The service began at the base chapel and finished with a wreath laying at the memorial located off of Nider Boulevard.
The memorial includes 184 names of known local survivors of the attack.
"What built the nation was people coming from other locations that said that they can make things better in life, and this was the place to do it," says Muehleib.
74 years after the attacks, Muehleib says he has seen warfare change.
"You don't have territorial boundaries where you can go from point A to point B, you are surrounded with risk and challenges."
However, he proudly says, the mission for those he served with and those who serve today, remains very much the same.
"We chose to be where we are just as the young people today, they've chosen their risk and they've volunteered their services."
