Family Of Pearl Harbor Survivor Holds A Remembrance In Des Plaines
CHICAGO (CBS) – 75 years ago today, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
In the end, torpedos damaged or destroyed eight battleships. Over 2,300 American service members died.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole has lives changed forever by that day.
On the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks, a salute is made to the veterans of World War II and those who could not be here today, in a Des Plaines auditorium.
"It's a day of remembrance, honoring my dad and local survivors," said Rick Miller, of Mundelein.
The day the Japanese warplanes bombed the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii, ushering America into war.
"They all grew up pretty fast," said Bob Miller, of Mundelein.
Clarence CJ Miller survived. He was just 19-years old.
"He was a kid when he got there," said Bob Miller. "He was a man after that day."
Miller returned from battle to raise a family, now gone, his sons organize these tributes and keep his memory alive.
"This is my way of dealing with it," Rick Miller said.
"We were trying to survive," said Joe Triolo, Pearl Harbor survivor. "We did not know what was going on."
Joe Triolo remembers that day first hand.
"When the alarm went off, I didn't pay much attention because we were always having drills," Triolo said.
In his early 20's aboard the USS Tangiers, he watched ships fall.
"We knew these people were trying to kill us," Triolo said.
And they fought incoming planes with machine guns.
"It didn't make me stronger or more patriotic," Triolo said. "Just more determined to do what we needed to do."
They are memories from the greatest generation, from a day that helped define both them and their nation.
"Always remember," Rick Miller said, never to forget.
It's estimated there may be fewer than 2,000 survivors of the Pearl Harbor attacks still alive, most in their 90's. The challenge for the rest of us, as their numbers dwindle is to keep the memories of their sacrifices alive.
