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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, December 7, 2009

Pearl Harbor vets honored on 68th anniversary of attack


By William Cole
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack gathered for the 68th anniversary commemoration at Pearl Harbor today.

BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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PEARL HARBOR — About 2,000 people and 55 Pearl Harbor survivors attended this morning’s 68th anniversary commemoration of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack.

The ceremony at Kilo Pier — with a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the start of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor — saw survivors place wreaths for the ships that took the heaviest casualties along Battleship Row.
Louis Conter was on the Battleship Arizona when a 1,700-pound, armor-piercing bomb slammed through its decks and ignited the forward ammunition magazines, causing a huge explosion.
“We blew up in 13 minutes. Didn’t have too much time,” said Conter, now 88, who lives in Grass Valley, Calif.
The bow of the battleship rose up 30 feet out of the water, he said.
A total of 1,177 sailors were killed on the Arizona — about half of all of the casualties suffered in the attack.
“Every time we go aboard that (memorial) it’s hard,” Conter said. “Tears come to your eyes.”
The aging survivors, many using walkers or canes and a few in wheelchairs, received a spontaneous standing ovation as they completed the wreath-laying ceremony for nine of the ships that were struck.
The cruiser USS Lake Erie conducted a pass-and-review, four F-15 fighter jets from the Hawaii Air National Guard performed a “missing man flyover,” a Marine rifle team fired a salute and “echo taps” was played.