WEBVTT

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(audience chatter)

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- Good afternoon.

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On behalf of the National Park Service,

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Commander Navy Region Hawaii,

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and our special guest, Mr. Gil Meyer,

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I would like to welcome you

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to the USS Utah Remembrance Ceremony.

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I am Master Chief Greg
Vidaurri, the Command Master

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Chief of Commander Naval Region Hawaii.

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Thank you for joining us, for
this very special ceremony,

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where we honor the crew of the USS Utah.

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To begin, we would like to say aloha,

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to USS Utah survivor, Mr. Gil Meyer,

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who joins us again this year.

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(applause)

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Sir it is truly an honor to
have you here again, with us.

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We'd also like to recognize
our other Pearl Harbor

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survivors in attendance today.

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Thank you all for being here,

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and more importantly,
thank you for your service.

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(applause)

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A warm aloha also, to Mrs. Mary
Cribb and her daughter Lena.

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For years, Mrs. Cribb has
been attending this ceremony

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on behalf of her twin sister Nancy,

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who's remains were with their father

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when the ship went down.

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Captain Bernard, Commander
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

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Thank you, Captain, for joining us.

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We're here today to honor the crew

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of the proud ship that you
see behind me, the USS Utah.

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The USS Utah was commissioned

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on August 31st, 1911.

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She served with honor in the Atlantic

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during the first world
war, as the flagship,

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a battleship division one,

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as well as war time readiness
and peace time missions

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on both sides of the Atlantic
and in South America.

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In 1931, she was converted
to a target vessel,

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where she helped train
Navy pilots as realistic

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target for exercises and (inaudible),

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carrier-based planes.

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On the morning of December 7th, 1941,

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she took multiple torpedo hits
that caused her to capsize

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and that's the same position
as you see her here today.

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This afternoon, we remember
the 58 crew members

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who died on this proud ship.

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It is now my pleasure to
introduce Ms. Jacqueline Ashwell,

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the superintendent of the World War II

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Valor of the Pacific National Museum.

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Ms. Ashwell moved to
Oahu in October of 2015

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from Seattle, where she had
served as the superintendent

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of the Seattle National
Area Park Services.

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She is passionate about
historic preservation,

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community, and employee engagement,

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and developing the next
generation of stewards

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who care for our nation's
most sacred places,

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such as our national
Pearl Harbor memorial.

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Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome Ms. Jacqueline Ashwell.

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(applause)

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- I always have to lower that.

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Good evening everyone, aloha!

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- [Audience] Aloha!

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- I'm on day two, for me really,

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the commemoration kind
of started yesterday

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and it is such an honor to
be the one that welcomes you

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and it is, I'm feeling
so much, just emotion.

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It's like a homecoming,
it's a family reunion.

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So it's good to see Kathleen and Brian.

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Not Nancy, Mary and Nina.

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Gil, Jim, I haven't seen Jim in a while.

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In fact, I want to tell
a little story on Jim,

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cause he loves it when I
tell stories about him.

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So, for those of you
who were here last year,

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does anybody remember
what we agreed to do?

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I said that the Park Service
would take down the flag

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that had flown over the Utah memorial on

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December 6th and 7th of 2017

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and to honor Jim for everything
he's done over the years.

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He was just telling me
that he's being doing

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interments here going back 24 years.

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24 years and we wanted
to give him that flag

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to thank him for all of his service.

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I was talking to Kathleen
a second ago and I said,

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"You know how long it took
me to get the flag to him?"

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and she said, "How many months?"

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and I said, "I think it was five."

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I don't remember the details, of like,

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all the different, like,
calling and trying to figure

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it out, all I remember
is that at some point,

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I managed to get ahold of
his personal cell number

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and his address and I
called him and I said,

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"Are you home tomorrow
because tomorrow I am coming"

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"to your house and I
am bringing the flag."

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And he agreed to be home, which is huge,

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and what I do remember
more than anything else

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is that, do you remember what you said

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to me in your front yard Jim?

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When he came out of his house

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and he greeted me and
I gave him that flag,

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which had been so neatly folded on my desk

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for about five months, made
me think of you everyday

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I was kind of sad to
give it away actually.

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He said, "Oh, Jacqueline, you
don't have to give me this."

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We love you, Jim.

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It's so good to see you here

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and it's so good to see everyone here

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and, you know, so many of the people here

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help us to tell the story
of the men of the Utah.

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Tomorrow morning in my remarks
over at the visitor's center,

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I'm going to paraphrase a quote

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from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
1943 State of the Union

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and I think, if you'll
forgive the redundancy,

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I'd like to go ahead and
share it with you here tonight

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cause it's just as
applicable as we are here

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and remembering the men of the Utah.

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And the quote, to paraphrase,

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is, "As long as our flag
flies over the Capitol"

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"of the United States of
America, Americans will remember"

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"the soldiers, sailors,
and marines who fought"

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"the first battles of this
war," that being World War II.

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It was 1943.

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Their unconquerable
spirit will live forever.

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The first battle of that war,

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was 77 years ago tomorrow morning

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and 58 men, here, gave their lives

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and every time I'm here, cause
I was just talking to Jim,

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every time I'm at the
Utah, whether it's walking

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over on my lunch break,because
my office is in that building

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right there, or here, with all of you,

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I also think about all the other souls

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that are in the water, who
have chosen this as their final

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resting place because of their
connection to Pearl Harbor

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and their unconquerable
sprits will live forever

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and it's not just because
of the National Park Service

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and the US Navy, but many of you here.

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You know, like, I almost did it again,

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Mary gave me her new
brochure for this year

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and it's got a lot of information in it.

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So, I just want--

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Oh and hello!

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I just want to thank
all of you because the

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Park Service can't do it alone.

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We need the help of all Americans

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to help make sure that these
stories stay remembered

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and, I said I wasn't going to do this,

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but I think I am going to
mention something I'm working on.

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I always hate to mention
a thing I'm working on

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that's still in the oven
and not quite fully baked

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because then inevitably it
gets delayed or something,

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but one of the things that has bugged me

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for three plus years now,
as the superintendent here,

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is that occasionally we
have people who arrive

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at the visitor's center who
really want to see the Utah

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and sometimes it's even more
heartbreaking because they

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have some sort of family
connection to the Utah,

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but they don't have base access

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and so the National Park Service
and Pacific Historic Parks

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over the past year many of
the people that I can see

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sitting out here have
been working towards,

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hopefully, eventually doing
a small, not anything huge,

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not like the white boats that
go everyday to the Arizona,

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but a small opportunity for
a private tour with a ranger,

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so that we can deal with all
the base security issues,

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but to be able to bring people over here

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maybe once or twice a
week on a regular basis

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and so keep this in your thoughts

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as we work to make that happen.

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I really hope that next year we're able

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to tell you all about that.

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(applause)

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Oh dear, now I've put
it out into the universe

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and so it must happen.

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Anyway, thank you all
so much for coming back,

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yet again, and I hope you
can stick around afterwards

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and talk some stories.

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Thank you!

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- Thank you, Jacqueline.

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Now it's my special honor to introduce

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a man who has played very important role

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in the life and legacy of the USS Utah.

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Master Chief Jim Taylor
enlisted in the United States

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Navy in October of 1956 in
his hometown of Toledo, Ohio.

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He served for 32 years as a
Yeoman in multiple commands.

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His sea duty assignments
include USS Herbert J Thomas,

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USS Higbee, my favorite, the USS Proteus,

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and USS Robert E Peary.

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Other assignments include US
Naval Station Sangley Point,

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Naval Reserve Training Center Cincinnati,

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Commander Patrol Wing Two,
and his final assignment,

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as a Command Master Chief of
patrol squadron 22 of Barbers

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Point where he retired from
active service in 1989.

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He has spent 18 years in civil service

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as the assistant officer
in charge of the Navy

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Brig right here on Ford Island

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and has continued to serve
our Navy and our nation

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for 15 years as a volunteer
Pearl Harbor survivor

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liaison with Commander Navy Region Hawaii.

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He has taken personal interest
in giving his own time

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to take care of our Pearl Harbor survivors

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in meeting their needs, both here locally

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and the veterans who
reside in the mainland.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

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please welcome Master Chief Jim Taylor.

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(applause)

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- Jacqueline has a habit of making me cry.

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I have, okay, let me rehearse myself.

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Jack Vaessen, who I'm going to be talking

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about in a little bit, he's
one gentlemen that was,

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one sailor that was saved
from inside the ship

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and he worked for years attempting

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to get the Utah open to the public.

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I kind of took up his place after that

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and, for quite a few years,
I've written everybody

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except God, the President I should say

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and requesting assistance
in getting the memorial

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open to the public and I
haven't had news this good,

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I can't remember the last
time I got news this good,

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that we're gonna finally be able

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to have the public see this memorial.

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So, Jackie, thank you so much.

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It means a lot.

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Sorry.

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I'm not as organized as I thought I was.

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Anybody know what this is?

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It's a wrench.

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I'll be talking to you
about it in just a minute.

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I'm gonna ditto Jackie, good morning,

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good afternoon, good day, aloha!

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- [Audience] Aloha!

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- Thank you all for coming
out here to recognize

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the ship behind me and the
people that were serving on it.

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Just a little bit of history, very small.

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The ship was about twice
as far out as she is now.

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Everything from that building,
behind you, was water.

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All of this has been filled in.

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When the attack took place,
that's where they had

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to swim to to evade death inside the ship.

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It was kind of a tough
job because they had

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to jump off the ship,
some of them had to slide

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down the ship because it was upside down

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and got barnacle scratches
all over their backs.

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They had to swim all that
distance with Japanese

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firing at them, strafing aircraft,

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and these, Gil Meyer will tell you,

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as soon as they got, they were
so happy to get to the shore

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and that's when they
cut their feet on the--

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What is it?

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The coral.

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So, it was quite a job,

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quite a feat of just the swim itself.

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We're honored to have
with us Captain Bernard,

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thank you so much for coming today.

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Master Chief, you know how
much I love Master Chiefs,

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thank you so much for what
you're doing here today, also,

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and thanks to everybody
else that's here too.

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I see a lot of covers, Pearl Harbor this,

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USS Utah that, Pearl Harbor survivor that.

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It's really nice to
have everybody come out

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here and recognize this great ship.

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If there's anybody here from
the Afloat training group,

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my special thanks for all the work

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that you've done on this memorial.

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The Afloat training group
is here on Ford Island

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and their sailors came
out here, scrubbed it,

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cleaned it and really did a great job.

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I'm gonna talk about Bill Hughes.

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Bill Hughes was a radioman on the ship.

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He was sound asleep when
the first torpedo hit.

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He didn't know what to do, obviously,

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they were kind of
wondering what's going on,

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what's going on and
then the second one hit

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and they realized, when water
started coming down in the

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compartment, they realized
they needed to get topside.

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So, Gil, I mean, Jack--

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I'm sorry,

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Bill was lucky cause he
was one of the first ones

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to get off the ship and he
dived off the starboard side

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and was able to get off
without getting all the

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barnacle scratches, but then, of course,

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they had to swim all the
way from way out there

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and dodge bullets coming
from the strafing aircraft.

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Now, I wouldn't want to be
swimming that far anyway,

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but to be swimming with
bullets coming at you,

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that's kind of scary and then,

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when they got to shore, guess what?

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He cut his foot on the coral.

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He is quoted as saying, "The
only injury I got during"

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"World War II was when I
escaped from the ship."

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He was born in November of
1921 and he died six weeks ago.

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When the attacks started, as I said,

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he was very lucky because
he was one of the first

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ones off the ship and,
so, he was able to get

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off without having to slide
down and injure himself.

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All of his belongings, all he had on

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was a pair of pants and a t-shirt,

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and all of his belongings,
and the most cherished one of

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all, a picture of Rita Hayworth,

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was still inside of his locker.

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When the war ended, his
ship arrived at Tokyo Bay

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about two hours after
the surrender signed.

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I'm proud to say that I know a guy

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that was on the USS Detroit
during the surrender.

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That man right there, Gil Meyer.

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So, he was here during the
beginning of the attack

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and he was there at the end of the war.

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Right?

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That's correct, okay.

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(applause)

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When the war ended, everybody was happy.

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It was probably the most joyous day

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of the Navy's life and the world's life.

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Bill also was the gentlemen that created

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the website for the Utah association,

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the Utah survivors association.

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He was one of those guys, you know,

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that if there was a
new camera out or a new

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computer thing out or whatever,
he had it, he owned it.

17:58.540 --> 17:59.423
Kinda like Gil.

18:02.450 --> 18:03.605
I love you, man.

18:03.605 --> 18:05.688
(laughs)

18:06.800 --> 18:08.830
I think that his best

18:11.240 --> 18:13.360
Utah ceremony that he ever attended

18:13.360 --> 18:16.540
was a couple years ago, when something,

18:16.540 --> 18:18.790
he couldn't get on the bridge.

18:18.790 --> 18:22.110
He ended up going over,
driving over to security

18:22.110 --> 18:25.620
or something, and I was worried about him.

18:25.620 --> 18:27.830
He wasn't in the audience
and nobody knew where he was

18:27.830 --> 18:31.590
and no phone call or nothing
and, all of a sudden,

18:31.590 --> 18:34.607
I look off over that
way and I see about five

18:34.607 --> 18:37.080
vehicles with blue lights flashing

18:38.120 --> 18:42.080
and a car in between them.

18:42.080 --> 18:46.560
The car got up there and the
crowd was beginning to disperse

18:46.560 --> 18:51.560
and out comes Bill, escorted
by the commanding officer,

18:52.200 --> 18:57.200
then, of the entire base at
Pearl Harbor in his dress whites

18:58.230 --> 19:01.487
and Bill said, "That was a
lot better than any kind"

19:01.487 --> 19:04.200
"of a ceremony that I ever attended."

19:04.200 --> 19:09.200
So, he's buried at the Naval National

19:10.900 --> 19:13.143
Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

19:14.850 --> 19:17.493
Next, I want to talk about Jack Vaessen.

19:19.120 --> 19:22.237
Jack Vaessen was born in 1916

19:22.237 --> 19:24.300
and he died in February of this year

19:25.780 --> 19:28.723
at the age of one-zero-one.

19:31.130 --> 19:33.337
He was called for active duty in 1941

19:33.337 --> 19:35.303
and was assigned to the Utah.

19:37.550 --> 19:39.740
At zero seven 45, he took over the watch

19:39.740 --> 19:41.003
in the electrical room.

19:42.480 --> 19:44.170
All of a sudden, the torpedoes hit

19:44.170 --> 19:46.020
and the water was staring to come in.

19:46.940 --> 19:49.370
He rushed everybody out and
kept the electrical system

19:49.370 --> 19:54.113
going so people could see
in order to escape the ship.

19:57.970 --> 19:59.950
He saved many lives by doing that

20:00.820 --> 20:03.923
and he, in turn, was
trapped inside the ship.

20:05.240 --> 20:07.920
He grabbed a wrench off the bulkhead

20:08.800 --> 20:13.800
and a flashlight and
he was finally up next

20:15.120 --> 20:18.380
to the hull of the ship,
the bottom of the ship,

20:18.380 --> 20:20.950
because the ship was then upside down

20:22.430 --> 20:26.313
and he was tapping on
the skin of the ship.

20:27.840 --> 20:31.253
He then heard some tapping back.

20:32.100 --> 20:33.500
He though, "Oh, they found me."

20:33.500 --> 20:35.940
Turned out that that
was machine gun bullets

20:35.940 --> 20:38.230
that was hitting the bottom of the ship

20:39.140 --> 20:42.452
and, so, of course that was
a little bit frustrating,

20:42.452 --> 20:46.200
and he continued tapping
with this right here,

20:48.210 --> 20:49.630
that he had taken off the bulkhead.

20:49.630 --> 20:52.340
He also still had the flashlight

20:52.340 --> 20:55.520
and to this day, the
flashlight still works

20:55.520 --> 21:00.060
and he kept this and his
flashlight in his room

21:00.060 --> 21:02.940
and basically slept
with it all of his life

21:02.940 --> 21:06.220
because he credited
this and the flashlight

21:06.220 --> 21:08.310
for not only saving his life,

21:08.310 --> 21:11.420
but saving the ones that
ended up getting out

21:11.420 --> 21:13.390
because of what he did.

21:13.390 --> 21:16.640
For that, he received the Navy cross,

21:16.640 --> 21:20.123
which is the second
highest medal there is.

21:21.280 --> 21:24.077
Now, I kind of wonder
about medals sometimes

21:24.077 --> 21:26.600
because it you look at Peter Tomich,

21:26.600 --> 21:29.990
he received the medal of
honor and Jack basically

21:29.990 --> 21:32.700
did the same thing, except Jack lived.

21:32.700 --> 21:35.593
So, but anyway, the Navy
cross wasn't too bad.

21:38.030 --> 21:40.540
The rescue team from the USS Raleigh,

21:40.540 --> 21:43.720
which was over there,
came over and between

21:43.720 --> 21:46.280
them and some of the
crew members of the Utah,

21:46.280 --> 21:51.280
they heard the tapping on
the deck with this wrench.

21:52.800 --> 21:55.453
They cut a hole in the
ship and got Jack out.

21:57.200 --> 22:02.073
Now, that had to be a really
wonderful time to see the sky.

22:06.530 --> 22:11.530
After the war was over,
he was pretty, one of

22:11.940 --> 22:15.190
the responsible people for
getting this memorial here

22:16.400 --> 22:20.763
and we can thank Jack Vaessen
and the rest of the people

22:20.763 --> 22:24.380
that he worked with because
this memorial is here.

22:24.380 --> 22:27.510
He also, at the same
time, was trying to figure

22:27.510 --> 22:32.510
out a way to get the public
to see this memorial.

22:33.540 --> 22:36.840
He and a couple other
people tried for years

22:36.840 --> 22:40.073
to get that done and failed to do so,

22:41.770 --> 22:44.530
for various reasons and you can't blame

22:44.530 --> 22:48.440
the Park Service locally here because they

22:48.440 --> 22:50.330
don't have the people,
they don't have the money.

22:50.330 --> 22:51.630
Okay, I understand that.

22:51.630 --> 22:55.777
So, I wrote a letter to every
Congressman, every Senator

22:55.777 --> 23:00.170
from Hawaii and Utah and I wrote

23:00.170 --> 23:02.490
the Secretary of the Interior a letter

23:02.490 --> 23:05.883
and I got two responses, which is typical,

23:06.860 --> 23:08.770
and they both said exactly the same thing,

23:08.770 --> 23:11.440
and one was a Congressman
and one was a Senator,

23:11.440 --> 23:13.127
and were almost
word-for-word were the same,

23:13.127 --> 23:15.760
and I thought, "Do they
share their responses?"

23:15.760 --> 23:20.760
I don't know, but bottom
line is I have lobbied,

23:20.800 --> 23:25.800
I've talked to people, and
the news that I just received

23:26.440 --> 23:28.793
that pretty soon this
things gonna be open.

23:29.770 --> 23:32.620
I'm gonna volunteer to
come out here and give

23:32.620 --> 23:34.020
the history to the tourists that are

23:34.020 --> 23:35.870
allowed to come over here.

23:35.870 --> 23:37.510
You're not allowed to call
them tourists, I guess.

23:37.510 --> 23:39.370
You got to call them visitors, right?

23:39.370 --> 23:41.810
Yeah, well that's okay, that's okay.

23:45.281 --> 23:47.190
It was interesting that during the war

23:47.190 --> 23:49.313
when he was still on the Haynsworth,

23:49.313 --> 23:51.790
that the Haynsworth took a Kamikaze,

23:51.790 --> 23:54.340
which is a suicide plane, took a hit

23:56.458 --> 23:58.670
and Jack, once again,

23:58.670 --> 24:03.450
was saving lives by keeping
the electrical system going.

24:03.450 --> 24:06.295
Fortunately, he didn't
get stuck on the ship

24:06.295 --> 24:08.150
when he was doing that.

24:13.970 --> 24:16.533
He was buried in Arlington, in June.

24:19.200 --> 24:24.120
The Navy Honor Guard that
took care of Jack's casket

24:24.120 --> 24:27.610
at Arlington was the same two sailors

24:27.610 --> 24:31.900
that were at John McCain's
burial and carried his casket.

24:31.900 --> 24:36.160
One of them was with Bush yesterday.

24:36.160 --> 24:39.990
I saw him on TV and I thought,
"Oh my goodness," so lot of--

24:39.990 --> 24:41.890
I guess they did that because of Jack.

24:43.860 --> 24:45.940
That's all I have.

24:45.940 --> 24:47.800
I'm a proud American.

24:47.800 --> 24:51.230
I'm proud of every, all
these sailors wearing whites.

24:51.230 --> 24:54.380
I love it, I love them,
and I love my country

24:54.380 --> 24:59.280
and I love everybody, and
especially in the greatest

24:59.280 --> 25:01.530
office that I ever worked in in my life

25:01.530 --> 25:04.670
and that's Public Affairs
here at Navy Region Hawaii.

25:04.670 --> 25:06.140
They're the best.

25:06.140 --> 25:07.868
Thank you very much.

25:07.868 --> 25:10.118
(applause)

25:18.018 --> 25:19.881
- Thank you for your words, Jim,

25:19.881 --> 25:21.780
and more importantly, thank
you for your commitment

25:21.780 --> 25:25.353
to preserving the legacy of the USS Utah.

25:25.353 --> 25:27.603
(applause)

25:35.040 --> 25:37.690
At this time, Chaplain
Pittman of Joint Base

25:37.690 --> 25:39.930
Pearl Harbor-Hickam will offer a prayer

25:39.930 --> 25:42.793
followed by the playing of
Taps by seaman Dakota Keller.

25:52.516 --> 25:53.683
- Let us pray.

25:54.900 --> 25:58.510
Our eternal father, you who
lone rules the destinies

25:58.510 --> 26:01.250
of nations and who's
deemed that men should live

26:01.250 --> 26:04.320
in freedom and not fear,
please awaken in us

26:04.320 --> 26:05.970
a new appreciation of our county,

26:05.970 --> 26:08.290
through the sacrifices of these men who

26:08.290 --> 26:11.763
gave their lives on the Utah
so that we may live in freedom.

26:12.730 --> 26:15.490
Grant us your spirit as we
honor those who have fought

26:15.490 --> 26:18.410
the good fight and finished the course.

26:18.410 --> 26:21.580
On this day, we call to
remember those who served

26:21.580 --> 26:24.140
here and have laid down
their arms to march

26:24.140 --> 26:26.508
into that land of eternal peace.

26:26.508 --> 26:28.680
We will remember their sufferings,

26:28.680 --> 26:31.060
we'll remember their fears,

26:31.060 --> 26:33.460
the horrors of what they endured.

26:33.460 --> 26:36.010
It's time for us to realize
that much of the best

26:36.010 --> 26:38.272
blood that has been spilled so that we

26:38.272 --> 26:41.813
might live free and unchained.

26:42.800 --> 26:45.750
Let us never forget them,
our comrades in arms

26:45.750 --> 26:49.440
for those who, from
fallen hands have taken

26:49.440 --> 26:51.810
up the sacred cause of freedom.

26:51.810 --> 26:55.270
Today we consecrate unto
you the debt of our national

26:55.270 --> 26:57.763
gratitude, which is our rightful duty.

26:58.630 --> 27:01.610
Keep sacred their sacrifice in our hearts.

27:01.610 --> 27:04.370
Keep holy our course in your sight

27:04.370 --> 27:06.940
and kindle us with the flame of selfless,

27:06.940 --> 27:10.320
unwavering devotion to
duty, that we may never

27:10.320 --> 27:13.700
be found wanting and
those qualities of spirit

27:13.700 --> 27:16.610
and mind, which are loaned
to be able to preserve

27:16.610 --> 27:19.660
hearth and home, the peace of our nation,

27:19.660 --> 27:21.730
and the tranquility of the world.

27:21.730 --> 27:23.630
We earnestly implore your providential

27:23.630 --> 27:28.290
cares we face the grim and
great task which lies ahead.

27:28.290 --> 27:31.290
May the day soon come
when we can lay down arms

27:31.290 --> 27:34.760
and most earnestly give our
attention to do justice,

27:34.760 --> 27:38.623
to live in kindness, and to
walk humbly at your side.

27:38.623 --> 27:41.023
It's in your name we pray, amen.

27:41.930 --> 27:45.560
And please rise, if you are
able, for a playing of Taps.

27:56.736 --> 27:59.986
(Taps played on bugle)

29:09.413 --> 29:11.163
- Will the guests please be seated.

29:20.300 --> 29:22.100
Before we conclude this
afternoon's ceremony,

29:22.100 --> 29:25.017
I would like to invite Brian Bonifant,

29:25.017 --> 29:27.530
the Hawaii State Chair
of the Sons and Daughters

29:27.530 --> 29:29.617
of Pearl Harbor Survivors, to come out

29:29.617 --> 29:31.223
for a special presentation.

29:37.250 --> 29:38.340
- Good evening, everybody.

29:38.340 --> 29:40.600
I'm Brian Bonifant, the Hawaii State Chair

29:40.600 --> 29:42.520
of Sons and Daughters of
Pearl Harbor Survivors

29:42.520 --> 29:45.730
and I would like to invite
Master Chief Jim Taylor

29:45.730 --> 29:47.730
to join me up here at the podium please.

29:49.010 --> 29:50.850
And Jim, I know you like to
be the center of attention,

29:50.850 --> 29:53.480
so, I've cut my comments down from an hour

29:53.480 --> 29:55.640
to thirty minutes tonight for you.

29:55.640 --> 29:56.473
No, just kidding.

29:56.473 --> 29:58.610
In all seriousness, Jim's been doing this

29:58.610 --> 30:03.610
for well over 20 years,
officiating the USS Utah

30:04.120 --> 30:07.180
ceremonies, and correct me if I'm wrong,

30:07.180 --> 30:09.679
but it was you and a handful of survivors

30:09.679 --> 30:13.850
that started it years
ago and it's definitely

30:13.850 --> 30:15.970
turned into a lot larger spectacle now,

30:15.970 --> 30:19.430
so thank you so much and
thank you for officiating

30:19.430 --> 30:22.340
all the ceremonies for
our fallen survivors

30:22.340 --> 30:25.350
who want to come back here to Pearl Harbor

30:25.350 --> 30:27.653
to be scattered in the waters here.

30:28.676 --> 30:32.530
So, again, it is with
our great appreciation

30:32.530 --> 30:34.670
that we'd like to
recognize you this evening.

30:34.670 --> 30:35.503
Kathleen?

30:36.720 --> 30:39.280
So on behalf of Sons and
Daughters, our national,

30:39.280 --> 30:41.330
we'd like to present you with this plaque.

30:41.330 --> 30:44.290
In recognition, Jim
Taylor, Sons and Daughters

30:44.290 --> 30:46.350
of Pearl Harbor Survivors
would like to recognize

30:46.350 --> 30:49.410
Jim Taylor for decades
of selfless dedication

30:49.410 --> 30:51.870
to honor those casualties and survivors

30:51.870 --> 30:55.890
of the attack on Pearl
Harbor, December 7th, 1941.

30:55.890 --> 30:58.260
Jim Taylor presided over
countless internments,

30:58.260 --> 31:01.040
remembrance ceremonies, and
placed our Sons and Daughters

31:01.040 --> 31:03.590
of Pearl Harbor Survivors
wreaths at the memorial

31:03.590 --> 31:06.450
sites on December 6th and December 7th

31:06.450 --> 31:09.690
and acted as liaison to
Pearl Harbor families.

31:09.690 --> 31:11.900
Sons and Daughters of Pearl
Harbor Survivors will always

31:11.900 --> 31:14.060
remember and be grateful for your service

31:14.060 --> 31:17.780
and commitment to beloved
Pearl Harbor survivors.

31:17.780 --> 31:18.613
Thank you, sir.

31:19.667 --> 31:21.917
(applause)

31:33.150 --> 31:34.250
- [Woman] Gotcha, Jim.

31:39.420 --> 31:43.470
- As I do every year, at this time,

31:43.470 --> 31:46.740
I'd like to read the names of the sailors

31:46.740 --> 31:51.120
that have been placed back
inside the ship at their wish

31:51.120 --> 31:55.250
after their death so they
could be with their shipmates

31:55.250 --> 31:58.823
that died on December 7th, 1941.

32:00.730 --> 32:02.203
Robert Boynton.

32:04.010 --> 32:05.773
James Oberto.

32:07.400 --> 32:09.203
John Jones.

32:10.570 --> 32:12.323
James Bradey.

32:13.800 --> 32:15.993
Robert Johnson.

32:17.370 --> 32:18.643
Lee Soucy.

32:21.020 --> 32:25.170
Karl Johnson.

32:25.170 --> 32:26.283
Gordon Sumner.

32:28.750 --> 32:30.473
Guy Pierce.

32:32.460 --> 32:34.343
Theodore Roosevelt.

32:36.300 --> 32:38.873
Yes, it wasn't him.

32:39.710 --> 32:41.143
It was the other one.

32:42.840 --> 32:44.523
Thomas Mullay.

32:46.240 --> 32:47.673
Cecil Calavan.

32:49.530 --> 32:51.423
Gene Seltzer.

32:52.930 --> 32:54.593
David Smith.

32:56.000 --> 32:57.583
Harry Smith.

32:59.180 --> 33:00.790
And Harry Hofstad.

33:02.410 --> 33:04.870
There's also a couple
of the other survivors

33:04.870 --> 33:09.040
from the Utah that we placed
a keepsake inside the ship

33:09.040 --> 33:11.743
because the family wanted
to do a casket burial.

33:13.630 --> 33:16.210
Again, I thank everybody
for what they do for me

33:16.210 --> 33:18.773
and what they do for our heroes.

33:20.100 --> 33:22.150
You're welcome to come out to the far end

33:22.150 --> 33:27.150
of the memorial and scatter
some flowers, tell stories.

33:28.440 --> 33:31.520
Mary Cribb would be more than
happy to tell you her story

33:32.386 --> 33:36.460
and I thank those people
that bought the wreaths.

33:36.460 --> 33:39.090
Because of the wind I didn't
bring them up this year.

33:39.090 --> 33:42.358
It finally took about
20 years to get smart

33:42.358 --> 33:45.070
and realize that the
wind would blow them over

33:45.070 --> 33:46.260
if we brought them up here.

33:46.260 --> 33:47.960
So, thank you again.

33:47.960 --> 33:50.910
Have a wonderful evening
and enjoy tomorrow.

33:50.910 --> 33:52.563
Tomorrow's the big day.

33:52.563 --> 33:54.813
(applause)

34:10.283 --> 34:12.082
- Ladies and gentlemen,
that concludes our ceremony.

34:12.082 --> 34:12.915
Thank you.

34:14.630 --> 34:16.880
(applause)