VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Thursday afternoon at 12:55, an annual Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony began inside the chapel at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.
The start time is the exact time on the east coast the attack began in 1941.
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The ceremony included a bell ringing, speakers, and pictures of the attack.
“My parents were very active with Pearl Harbor Survivors and did a lot of work with that group for many, many years," said Sue Rice.
Rice was a kid when the attack happened. Her father was stationed at Pearl Harbor.
“He took off and went across the road. We were right across from the gate. (He) broke into a bunker with another sailor and they set up a firing station on top of the bunker," Rice recalled.
Ellen Chebetar Burns is also the daughter of a Pearl Harbor survivor. Her father was 19 when the attack happened.
“It just amazes me that, through that, he fought along with that 13 more battles," said Burns. "It took several years for my dad to come out with some of the deeper feelings that he had. I will tell you, it was a long time before he would go into full detail with us."
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McArthur Memorial Director Amanda Williams was the ceremony’s guest speaker. She detailed the attack and the link to a military bombing exercise off the coast of Virginia 20 years earlier that demonstrated the value of carrier-based air power.
“An Army aviator, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell conducted a series of aerial bombing attacks that indirectly demonstrated the potential and power of carrier-based air power," Williams explained. "It was a lesson that the United States was slow to learn but that the Japanese would be quick to adapt.”
Both Burns and Rice believe the remembrance ceremonies are important.
"We have the younger generations now and they’re learning about that past history and it’s nice for us, who experienced living with a survivor and hearing the history one-on-one straight from them."
After the portion of the ceremony at the chapel, the ceremony continued and wrapped up with a wreath-laying at the Pearl Harbor memorial on base.
