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Indiana Man At Pearl Harbor To Honor Survivor Brother

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (CBS) -- A South Bend, Ind., man who served in the Marines during World War II was at Pearl Harbor Tuesday morning for ceremonies commemorating the 70th anniversary of the day that lives in infamy.

WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser met Nick Soley the other day at his nephew's home in Crown Point, Ind., for his 90th surprise birthday party.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports

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Soley was one of five brothers who fought in World War II. He and his brother, Mike, enlisted in 1940.

"Well, you know, in 1940, the Depression was still there, so there wasn't much really to choose," Soley said.

Nick Soley was in Iceland on Dec. 7, 1941. His brother, Mike, was one of the few who survived the Japanese attack on the U.S.S. Arizona.

"He was sleeping; didn't try to get to the top so he could do something with a machine gun or whatever was available, got burned a little bit, jumped in the ocean, they picked him up," Nick Soley said.

Mike Soley died in 2000.

Nick Soley said he thought going to Pearl Harbor would be a "very emotional" experience.

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