Over a dozen survivors of the Pearl Harbor bombing attacks, all of which are over 90 years old, got together in Hawaii to mark the 73rd anniversary of the incident that led to the death of 2,400 sailors, soldiers and Marines.
The gathering of survivors included what is called the final meeting of the USS Arizona Reunion Association, which is made up of the remaining nine survivors of the battleship USS Arizona, which sank in the Japanese attack that happened back in Dec. 7, 1941.
However, 93-year-old Louis Conter, is not yet ready to talk about the meetings ending.
"I don't think this is going to be our last. ... We've still got time to go," Conyer said, adding that the USS Arizona Reunion Association will be back for the succeeding anniversaries whether the rest of the survivors are able to attend or not.
"I feel very proud of them and I think they're like a national treasure and when they say that they were the Greatest Generation, I have to fully endorse that," said Robert Brooks. Eddie Brooks, his father, was also a survivor of the Pearl Harbor bombings.
One of the few survivors from the front part of the USS Arizona was Donald Stratton, who is now 92 years old. During the attack, over 65 percent of Stratton's body was burned, leading him to be hospitalized for over a year before being medically discharged from his service at the Navy.
However, a year after his discharge, Stratton re-enlisted.
At a private event, the survivors of the USS Arizona shared their stories in memory of their fallen shipmates, while drinking from replicas of the champagne glasses that were used on the battleship. The survivors will be sharing a bottle of wine that President Gerald Ford gave to the group, from his visit to Spain back in 1975.
The survivors arrived on Tuesday at the Pearl Harbor visitor center. They were greeted by the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Band with military salutes, before proceeding to a press conference where they once again relived their memories of the bombings.
The remaining survivors also viewed a live-feed from divers navigating the sunken hull of the USS Arizona, in which 900 bodies of the 1,177 people that died from the Pearl Harbor attacks were still held.
In addition, the cremated remains of 38 survivors have also been interred at the site, with Conter also planning to sign paperwork to intend to be interred there.
