Clovis community joins together in remembrance of tragedy
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese naval and air forces attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S. naval base in Oahu, Hawaii. The premeditated attack began at 8 a.m., taking Americans by surprise and killing over 2,4000 military personnel. The next day, the United States declared war on all Axis powers; Germany, Italy and Japan. President Roosevelt addressed the attack as a “date that will live in infamy” that America would never forget.
74 years later, the American people still remember and commemorate the attack that not only killed thousands, but also destroyed three naval U.S. fleets. The Central California Veterans Administration honored the sacrifices made at the Old Town Clovis Veterans’ Memorial District, Dec. 7. In attendance were at least 100 veterans, including 3 Pearl Harbor survivors; many current military members were in attendance as well.
The ceremony began with an honorary video of Pearl Harbor which contained actual footage of the attack. The Veterans of Foreign Wars performed the presentation of colors, along with speeches by veterans and Nathan Magsig, the mayor of Clovis.
Henry LeMay, a Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, led the crowd by singing the National Anthem and a special tribute was given to the Pearl Harbor survivors. A performance of the bagpipes by Reggie King and the laying of the wreath by Navy personnel concluded the ceremony.
[fusion_soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/237104133″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]
Charles ‘Chuck’ Lishman, a Coarsegold resident, experienced the Pearl Harbor attack firsthand. While stationed in the Navy as a watertender aboard the USS Perry, Lishman remembers the Japanese planes flying in and destroying objects nearby.
“At first I was confused, I didn’t really know what was going on,” Lishman said. “All I really knew was that we were getting blown up. We didn’t have anything to defend ourselves with at the time; I was one of the first loaders on the guns. I was just trying to load shells into the guns as soon as possible. Next thing I knew we were getting strafed, so I dove down and the bullets were ricocheting off the deck around me.”
We need to pray for freedom to life like we do have. We need to keep our brains working right. People running for president currently are calling us the strongest nation in the world; that’s exactly what they said at Pearl Harbor. No one thought anyone would come to bother us and Japan blew us all out of the water. All I can say is be alert; this next war isn’t going to be like sitting in the trenches anymore. — Charles ‘Chuck’ Lishman
While Lishman was lucky enough to survive the attack and his ship was rendered safe, the anniversary reminds him of those who lost their lives that perilous day. It also reminds him of how it completely changed his life and future.
“What a waste (of lives) it was, you couldn’t believe it,” Lishman said. “I think about the boys on the USS Oklahoma who couldn’t even cut through the steel; I had friends on that ship; it’s not a pleasure remembering that day. My term in the Navy was up Dec. 3, 1941, and I was scheduled to leave with my wife back to the states on Dec. 8. After Pearl Harbor happened, I enlisted for another four years and prepared for war.”
In a time of uncertainty and terror threatening the United States, Lishman advises Americans to prepare for all possibilities from his own experience.
“We need to pray for freedom to life like we do have,” Lishman said. “We need to keep our brains working right. People running for president currently are calling us the strongest nation in the world; that’s exactly what they said at Pearl Harbor. No one thought anyone would come to bother us and Japan blew us all out of the water. All I can say is be alert; this next war isn’t going to be like sitting in the trenches anymore.”
As a survivor of not only Pearl Harbor but World War II as well, Lishman feels blessed to survive the terrors he has been apart of. Lishman encountered luck again when he departed the USS Perry three years after Pearl Harbor on Sept. 10 and the ship was sunk on the 13th. Now 95, he is approaching his 75th anniversary with his wife, who he has known since childhood.
“During the war I was involved in New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Saipan, Taipan, Guam, six naval engagements and 11 landings,” Lishman said. “It’s remarkable I’m still alive, that’s what surprises me. The Lord has blessed me, he’s keeping me alive for something. Life is good. Whenever he wants to take me, I’m ready.”
As the future generation inherits America from the past, Lishman hopes they will remember the advantages they are able to grow up with today compared with his youth’s. While still earnest about the events of Pearl Harbor, he hopes people today can look back with gratitude and respect whilst keeping a bright perspective towards their futures.
“Be thankful for what you have and count your blessings,” Lishman said. “You get a lot of blessings you don’t even know you have; I don’t even know how I’m still here. It’s good to remember our history; we are so capable of forgetting things and we get tangled too much in our own little worlds. We need to thank the Lord for what we’ve got.”
Paul Loeffler, host of KMJ’s Hometown Heroes radio show, was also in attendance at the memorial. Having interviewed not only many World War II veterans but also Pearl Harbor survivors themselves including Chuck Lishman, Loeffler hopes that people can find the importance in remembering days like Pearl Harbor and the men who experienced it.
“If we don’t remember this and we don’t understand where our freedoms come from and what the price was paid for it, we don’t appreciate it,” Loeffler said. “We run the risk of taking it for granted and setting ourselves up for something like this to happen again. Every Pearl Harbor survivor I’ve talked to wants people to just remember what happened and to keep themselves alert.”
This writer can be reached via twitter: @macyyvictoria and via email: Macy Mascarenas.
For more on Pearl Harbor, see 74th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.