Black Pearl

You'll see it in old black-and-white newsreels -- the roiling smoke, the flames, the bombs.

They're not bursting-in-air bombs of "Star Spangled Banner" fame -- they're the ones that landed on the decks of the USS Arizona, the USS West Virginia, the USS Utah and 18 other ships parked like oarless dinghies in Pearl Harbor.

Dec. 7, 1941, was more than a day that "will live in infamy," in the words of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was a black day for more than 3,500 killed or wounded soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, civilians and their families.

It would be fair to call it Black Pearl.

Those who were there did their duty, fought back against the overwhelming surprise strike launched by the Empire of Japan that awakened the United States -- "the sleeping giant," and shuffled him onto the world stage as the top military and economic power.

The first terror attack

Only the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center comes close to the terror and anger shared by a similar number of victims on Dec. 7, 1941.

Ultimately, both attacks are about individual people. But those who were at Pearl are fast slipping into history. Before they disappear altogether, their stories need to be told.

And if the children and grandchildren of those who served on Oahu, Hawaii, that day can, they also should pass their fathers' and grandfathers' experiences on to the rest of America.

That's the belief and goal of the Arizona Memorial Museum Association and the Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund National Board, which are sponsoring "The Pearl Harbor Survivors Project."

Just log onto their Web site at pearlharborstories.org or call 866-PHSTORY and tell your story. Where were you or your relative that day, what happened, what do you remember seeing or what was told to you?

The end of an era

"We have reached the end of an era," says Daniel Martinez, National Park Service chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial Park. "Our youngest survivors are now in their eighties, and fewer and fewer return to Pearl Harbor each year.

"It's up to us now -- the historians, the children, the spouses and grandchildren -- to pull out the scrapbooks, upload the photos and write or call in to share the survivors' stories."

During the Sept. 8 launch of the Web site, 45-year-old Alby Saunders, the son of a Pearl survivor now based in Hawaii, said, "For years, I listened intently as Dad told me stories of Dec. 7th."

His father was stationed on the USS Raleigh.

"He was always a bit reluctant to talk about it, but through his stories I grew to understand how important that day was to America and how much it shaped who we are today as a nation.

"Now that Dad has passed, I want to preserve his stories for my kids and others across the country so that they can have that same appreciation."

Tony Nauroth is a features writer with The Express-Times. He can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at tnauroth@express-times.com.