Vigilance must be order of the day

Never forget.

Word War II veterans who were at Pearl Harbor the day the Japanese

attacked have spent decades relaying this message.

It is a warning, a cry for vigilance.

It was a sleepy Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii.

There had been no formal declaration of war.

And while thousands of servicemen and women slept, ate breakfast,

read the Sunday paper and relaxed, the Japanese Imperial Navy

attacked.

There were 2,395 men and women killed that morning, 1,178 wounded,

and 1,102 remain entombed in the USS Arizona.

For many, there is no way to forget, as parents or grandparents

who lived through the war told their stories. But for younger

generations, it is a time far removed. It is history, just like the

Civil War is history.

And so, veterans have gone to schools, spoken to students, told

their stories and relayed their messages of vigilance.

For many it is a message that resonates more since Sept. 11, 2001,

when America again came under attack. For others, it makes Dec. 7,

1941 seem even further in the past.

Neither should be forgotten, and one does not supersede the other.

With each year that passes, the number of Pearl Harbor survivors

dwindles.

Andrew Weniger, who was working on Hickam Army Airfield at Pearl

Harbor when the Japanese launched the attack, is among a shrinking

number of Pearl Harbor survivors.

Weniger, president of the Orange County Chapter of the Pearl

Harbor Survivors Assn., estimates that between 4,000 and 5,000 Pearl

Harbor survivors are left, down from 18,000 a decade ago. This year,

about 1,000 Pearl Harbor survivors are believed to have died.

Their stories must be retold and listened to. Their message must

live on.

On Tuesday, the 63rd anniversary of the attacks, Weniger and

others reached out to students at Corona del Mar High.

“We don’t want them to ever forget what others have sacrificed for

this great country,” he said.

But their message is not just a history lesson. It is a warning to

be ever vigilant. As we fight a new enemy, their message of vigilance

should be heeded.