People gathered in the East Bay Thursday for the 60th annual beacon lighting ceremony atop Mount Diablo that both paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor and also honored survivors.
Among the attendees of an event in Concord was Earl “Chuck” Kohler, who served in the U.S. Navy and is a survivor of Pearl Harbor.
“I hope that everybody would take the time to remember that day and the fact that we lost over 2,400 of my fellow shipmates and comrades there that morning,” Kohler said.
Kohler is now 99 and still speaks with a strong voice about the moment that changed America forever.
“Like we always said, keep America alert,” he said. “Remember Pearl Harbor, keep America alert. And at the present time, we need that same alertness.”
Thursday marked 82 years since the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
NBC Bay Area spoke with Kohler about what the beacon lighting event meant to him.
“I tell people, if they will make themselves available sometime between sunset on the seventh and sunrise on the eight, watch that beacon as it rotates. It sends its newer and broader and brighter beams across all the valleys below.”
Kohler also asked people to pay attention and never forget.
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“Their message, their plea will always be the same: remember us. Remember us. We gave our lives while in service to you,” he said.
