Families Of Pearl Harbor Survivors Meet To Remember 82nd Anniversary Of Attack

Thursday was the 82nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Tulsa's Last Man's Club for Veterans of Pearl Harbor met to honor those who survived and those who lost their lives. 

Families of Pearl Harbor survivors say it's important to honor and remember this day and to teach younger generations about Pearl Harbor.

Harriet Kuykendall rings the bell in memory of her father, Warrant Officer Ted Kuykendall. 

"I tell my friends if he hadn't survived, I wouldn't be here," she said.

On the same day 82 years ago, her dad was on the USS Nevada. 

"He was up on a crane trying to fix something. He was an electrician and was standing at attention when the planes started flying over; he saw the planes with the big red ball on them and knew something was going on," she said.

She says she doesn't want people to forget about what happened that day. 

"I just think it's important for people to understand the reason and the purpose and what happened because of that," she said.

Scott Cole's dad, Arles Cole, was on the USS West Virginia.

Scott says the bomb that hit the USS West Virginia was a dud, and his dad was able to escape. 

"He knew where the big display flag was, and so he went to the back of the West Virginia, he skinnied up the flagpole of the West Virginia and hung the flag, and you see it in the newsreels and the photos of the West Virginia," he said.

Scott says his dad used to visit schools all the time to teach kids about what happened at Pearl Harbor.

Now that his dad isn't here, it's Scott's job to help people remember. 

"It's important that we get people to remember, to keep America strong, and remembering Pearl Harbor is part of that," he said.