Moment of silence

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Those who fought at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, came out at dawn Friday for the 71st anniversary of the attack, a little more stooped and uncertain of step than last year but unbroken in the spirit that saw them through that day and many more in World War II.

About 3,000 people, including 60 war veterans and of that total, 30 Pearl Harbor survivors, observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., when Japa­nese planes swooped out of the sky 71 years ago to rain death and destruction on a sleepy Sunday morning.

That was about the only moment of silence for the survivors, who remained as eager as ever to relate stories of personal tragedy and valiant defense.

"I’m really glad that people remember Pearl Harbor and the guys that were murdered here," said Paul Stroud, 89, who was on the destroyer USS Ralph Talbot. "They were murdered. They didn’t die in combat. They were fighting — whenever they got to their guns and things like that. But the ones in their bunks, that was just like coldblooded murder."

Four F-22 Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard flew through a patchy blue sky over the waterfront ceremony on a still morning in a "missing man" formation.

The new Pearl Harbor destroyer USS Michael Murphy passed the sunken battleship Arizona at 8:06 a.m., with crew members in white uniforms lining the rails and rendering honors to those who died on Dec. 7, 1941.

Among the survivors at the ceremony on the back lawn of the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center was Louis Conter, 91, who was on the Arizona.

At about 8:06 a.m. 71 years ago, a Japa­nese high-level bomber dropped a 1,764-pound armor-piercing bomb onto his ship.

The bomb penetrated the forward deck, and the resulting explosion ignited aviation fuel stores and the powder magazines for the 14-inch guns, instantly separating most of the bow from the ship and lifting the 33,000-ton vessel out of the water.

Everything from the main mast forward was on fire, instantly. "Thirteen minutes of hell" is how Conter, then a 20-year-old quartermaster, describes it.

He said he is among only 13 still living from the Arizona. Conter makes the trip from California to Pearl Harbor almost every year.

"It’s just something, you have to honor those 2,403 that got killed that day, and especially my 1,177 shipmates on the Arizona," he said. "As long as we can, why, we’ll be here every December, and God willing, we’ll be here next year."

Six military sites on Oahu were attacked as part of Japan’s attempt to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet so it could pursue expansion through Southeast Asia.

The theme of this year’s commemoration was "Coming of Age — From Innocence to Valor," honoring those who served in the armed forces that day and recognizing the thousands of civilians who witnessed the attack, including 49 who were killed.

Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet and the keynote speaker, noted the chaos that descended on Pearl Harbor and the ultimate victory that followed.

"The Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II vets have left a tremendous legacy that has stood for more than seven decades," Haney said.

Among the veterans who fought through the war was Woody Derby, now 94, who was on the battleship Nevada on Dec. 7, 1941.

Derby, who lives in San Diego, was sending up ammunition from deep inside the ship when a torpedo exploded about 30 to 40 feet from his station.

"It was just kerboom! and we just felt it," Derby said. Within 20 minutes he was in water up to his waist, he said.

Derby continued to serve on the Nevada as the ship was repaired, went to the Aleutian Islands, escorted convoys to Ireland and was at Utah Beach for the D-Day Normandy invasion.

The commemoration included recognition of the 70th anniversary of the launch of the submarine USS Bowfin on Dec. 7, 1942.

The sub, nicknamed the "Pearl Harbor avenger," conducted nine war patrols and sunk 44 enemy vessels, and is now part of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park next to the Arizona Memorial visitor center.

As a tribute to World War II submarine service, and a first for Dec. 7 commemorations, the USS Tucson, a Los Angeles-class submarine based at Pearl Harbor, followed the destroyer Michael Murphy in a pass by the sunken Arizona as both rendered honors to the ship and its crew.

The ceremony also included a prayer for peace by the Japan Religious Committee for World Federation, wreath presentations, a rifle salute and echo taps.

Shawn Taylor, 34, visiting Hawaii from Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, Sherry, and daughter, Kiera, 5, said attending a Pearl Harbor commemoration was on his bucket list.

"I’ve got some very close friends who died (in Iraq and Af­ghani­stan) serving our country, and I feel it’s important to remember," he said.

He had his family up at 5:30 a.m. getting ready.

"It’s important for my daughter to see this," he said of the commemoration. "She’ll understand someday the significance of Pearl Harbor."