When the Imperial Japanese Navy made a surprise aerial attack on U.S. Navy vessels in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Howard Bender swung into action, directing anti-aircraft defenses against bombs and torpedoes raining down on his battleship, the USS Maryland.
Bender, now 91, joined dozens of military veterans, their families, friends and Cub Scouts aboard the USS Iowa on a rainy Saturday morning in San Pedro to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the battle that initiated America’s entry into World War II.
“In the military, you’re trained so well to just do the job,” Bender said. “It’s only after the fact you realize what happened.”
During the 1920s and ’30s, San Pedro was home to the Pacific Battleship Fleet that was decimated during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Pacific Battleship Center curator David Way said.
“Military and civilian families in San Pedro were affected because the Pacific Battleship Fleet that was here never came back after Pearl Harbor,” Way said. “Many sailors who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor were part of the San Pedro community fabric.”
Saturday’s ceremony included a Los Angeles Fire Department fireboat salute, with massive sprays of water over the Los Angeles Harbor. To commemorate the 2,403 Americans who died in the attack — 211 of whom were Californians — a memorial wreath was set adrift at 9:48 a.m., the time in California when the attacks began.
Aolani Kaeka sang “Aloha ’Oe,” or “Farewell to Thee,” and members of American Legion Post 291 presented the colors in a flag ceremony.
Don Latham and his wife joined a group of tourists from Iowa who had come to visit the battleship.
“This here ship was in Korea in 1952, when I was on the USS Thompson,” Latham said. “They fired on us and the Iowa saved us. Some of the guys that got killed were real good friends.”
Battleship Arizona, which was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the deaths of 1,177 men, was stationed in San Pedro from 1921 to 1940. The battleships Pennsylvania and California also called Los Angeles Harbor home for some time.
“Battleship sailors enjoyed liberty on San Pedro streets after long deployments,” Way said. “They cheered for their shipmates during fleet competitions at Trona Field, and met dates for sodas along Sixth Street.”
Jack Hammett, who served as a corpsman in the naval hospital across the channel from Battleship Row during the Pearl Harbor attack, sat in the front row by Bender through the ceremony, rising intermittently to salute the flag. Both men wore U.S. Navy uniforms and hats with pins from their service and the words “Pearl Harbor Survivors.”
“Today is my day to remember those who died,” Bender said. “I’m very happy to be able to go to the mall and see kids with their moms and dads and know that they’re free. This is what was important to us at the time.”
