Local nonprofit Honoring America’s Veterans is holding a memorial event honoring veterans and the attack on Pearl Harbor 83 years later.
A Navy veteran herself, executive director Paula Pedene said there are no longer attack survivors in Arizona.
“Time marches on, and if we fail to remember those who have defended our freedom and significant conflicts such as Pearl Harbor, then we forget a part of who we are,” Pedene said. “That was a traumatic day and a traumatic event in our country.”
Pedene emphasized the importance of recognizing the different ways veterans contribute using service-gained skills to benefit fields like community service, organizing and politics.
She added that Arizona has always been closely tied to the event.
“The USS Arizona was one of the first battleships to actually fall,” Pedene said, “and there were about 2,400 lives that were on that ship that were lost that day.”
Understanding that history is important, she said, when it comes to conflicts that were less popular with the general public, like Desert Storm.
“Our country has done a good job remembering our long ago veterans,” Pedene said. “I think what's important now is to really, honorably and nobly respect the veterans of the recent wars.”
She expressed hope that people take the time to look at the USS Arizona’s anchor and other parts on display at Wesley Bolin Plaza and reflect on who the hundreds of names written nearby represent.
