MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Marines, sailors and civilians honored those who lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941, during the annual Kaneohe Kilipper Memorial Ceremony held at the base flagpole, Dec. 5, 2014.
On the morning of Dec. 7, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the then-Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay prior to the attacks on what was then-Pearl Harbor Naval Station. The station was relatively new and in the middle of construction. At the time, it was home to 33 patrol bombers and countless service members. By the end of the attack, 27 patrol bombers, 18 service members and two civilians had fallen to the Japanese Imperial Navy.
Since the attacks, service members have held the annual Kaneohe Klipper Memorial Ceremony to honor the fallen.
Marines stood in formation with their units and other audience members stood for the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Band’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the raising of colors. The flag was positioned and the audience remained standing for the invocation by Lt. Cmdr. Don Rogers, the command chaplain for Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
“This beautiful Hawaiian island felt the brutality and the sting of war almost 73 years ago,” Rogers said. “The precious blood of (service members) and civilians was shed here. It was just the beginning of a crucial and horrific campaign in the struggle for our survival as a nation.”
After the invocation, Col. Eric W. Schaefer, commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, greeted the audience and introduced guest speaker, noted historian Daniel Martinez. Martinez, who works with the National Park Service, described the theme of this year’s anniversary of the attacks as “preserving the memory.”
“Why does preservation of our national memory on December 7th garner such importance,” Martinez asked. “History plays a role in our everyday lives. We learn from our past to achieve greater influence over our future.”
Martinez expressed his views of how preserving the history of the Pearl Harbor attacks can alter our future decisions.
“History serves as a model not only for who we are, (but) what we are, what we will learn and how we champion to avoid the mistakes of the past,” Martinez continued. “Every decision made around the world is constantly based on what came before us. Why? Because history matters.”
After Martinez completed his speech, service members stood in silence around the monument that honors the victims of the attack, which was dedicated on Dec. 2, 1981. Afterward, Martinez and Capt. Lance G. Scott, commanding officer of Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 2, accompanied Schaefer in placing a wreath in front of the stone Kaneohe Klipper Memorial.
The wreath was placed, and for a moment, the only sounds audible were birds chirping, gliding under the clear sky. The names of the casualties were read off. Service members then saluted the monument, and a 21-gun salute was fired in honor of the fallen.
“I think we can all sit here and imagine a day like this,” Schaefer said. “A morning in this beautiful garden spot on an island in the Pacific — a morning that was shattered by death and destruction. What was not shattered that morning, however, was the indomitable spirit of the people who stood up to defend our nation amongst the chaos and death.”