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Chicago Area Veterans Recall Pearl Harbor

(CBS) – Eight U.S. battleships were damaged or sunk on Dec. 7, 1941. Two hundred aircraft were destroyed, and more than 2,000 lost their lives.

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole spoke with two survivors from history.

Most know the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor as a page from history. Some know it firsthand.

Jefferson Park's Everett Schlegel was just 22, serving at the U.S. Army base a few miles from the harbor. He said the first Japanese pilot was flying so low they acknowledged each other with a wave.

"I didn't know who the hell he was. He didn't know who the hell I was," Schlegel says.

It soon became apparent it was an attack.

"All the airplanes were on the runway. He blew them all to hell," Schlegel says.

At 21, Joe Triolo from Zion had already served four years in the U.S. Navy.

"I knew exactly what was up," he says.

The attack was so unexpected that ammunition on board his ship -- the USS Tangier – wasn't readily available.

"I tried to open the ready boxes and they were locked," Triolo says.

Triolo and Schlegel, both in their 90s, were honored in Aurora on Monaday as the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor draws near.

"Anybody that was there that day -- you ain't ever going to forget it," Schlegel says.

The number of survivors has dwindled to roughly 2,000 – so, too, are the opportunities to learn from their sacrifices.

"They got to go back to history if they want to be successful and informed. Know history first," Triolo says.

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