Remember Pearl Harbor By Remembering Those We Lost

Lawrence Boxrucker, Howard Carter, and Welborn Ashby were among those killed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
The Honolulu Memorial at the Punch Bowl remembers these fallen.

Last year, when we were commemorating the 75th anniversary or the attack on Pearl Harbor, I first contemplated that while some of the American servicemen who died in World War 2 have been recognized and honored, the vast majority remain unknown. Unlike the Vietnam War Memorial with the names listed on a wall, the World War 2 fallen have had to settle for representation of a star on the World War 2 Memorial for each 100 who didn't come home.

Even though these men died more than seven decades ago, it was still a modern age. There were records and photographs, letters and journals. With the development of the Internet, a lot of this information is relatively easy to find. I thought it would be a worthwhile project to tell some of their stories.

So far this year I have written 339 profiles. Each man (and one woman) left behind parents, siblings, sometimes a sweetheart and even children. As a group, most of them knew what they were getting into. They knew the risks and knew they might not come home. The exceptions to this were those killed on December 7, 1941. These men woke that morning to a nation at peace. Many died not even knowing they were under attack.

I was able to write about six of these men on their 100th birthdays. Click on their names to read their stories. Sadly, I was only able to find photos of only a few of these men. If any readers can find photos, I would love to add them.

Welborn Ashby, USS West Virginia 

Lawrence Boxrucker, USS Oklahoma

Howard Carter, USS Dobbin

Leo Gagne, Hickam Field

Richard Livingston, Hickam Field

Eugene Skiles, USS Arizona, and his younger brother Charles

After the attack, the nation rallied behind the slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor." While at first this was used to motivate America to defeat the enemy, today it means more.

In his memoir All the Gallant Men: Am American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor, one of the last Pearl Harbor survivors Donald Stratton wrote:

"We also remember it in order to hallow the memories of those who were lost. And that, I believe, is how past and present are connected, through remembrance.

"That is how I would like to conclude my words to you. May we all be reunited again very soon in the world to come. All the gallant men of the Arizona. And all the others gallant men who died on that date that lives in infamy."

Thank you Welborn and Lawrence and Howard and Leo and Richard and Eugene and Charles and all your comrades who tragically died 76 years ago today.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.