LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dozens of World War II veterans were honored during a ceremony in Louisville remembering the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

What You Need To Know

  • Tuesday was the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor

  • The Frazier History Museum hosted dozens of World War II veterans to honor the anniversary

  • The World War II veterans in attendance were mostly in their 90s, and a few were 100 years old or older

 

Charles Wilson entered the Marine Corps as early as he could, even before he was legally allowed to.

“My grandmother, she forged my birth certificate, which I did not know,” he said. “And I went in at 16, but she had me down as 17.”

Wilson was first stationed in Guam at the tail end of World War II, later serving during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

“I knew that we were right and they were wrong, and something had to be done,” he said. “And I just kept going.”

Wilson and many others shared stories about the war, and specifically where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Jack Mooney remembers hearing it from an old man at a bakery, where they were listening to the news on the radio.

“That kind of set me back,” he said.

Many of the veterans at the Frazier History Museum on Tuesday, including Mooney, signed up for service after Pearl Harbor.

“The only ambition you had in your mind you had at the time was sign up and make them pay,” he said. “We sure did, didn’t we?”

And 80 years after Pearl Harbor, we still honor those who served. 

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