PORT ANGELES — A breakfast to honor Pearl Harbor survivors Sunday revealed a sad truth — few veterans of World War II remain, and even smaller is the number of survivors of the attack that propelled the country into the war.
“There are very few World War II veterans left,” said Lori Ridgeway, a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 483 auxiliary in Port Angeles, whose grandfather, Calvert Williams, was a survivor of Pearl Harbor.
On Sunday, 73 years after the attack, no Pearl Harbor survivors arrived to enjoy a free memorial breakfast at the Eagles Lodge, and only one WWII veteran appeared — Jack Ketchum, 88, of Port Angeles, who served in the Army and was sent to Germany to fight under Gen. George S. Patton.
Only about 25,000 veterans of World War II remain in the state of Washington, and, nationwide, there are only about 1 million of the 16 million who served during the war, according to the U.S. Veterans Administration website.
That number is expected to drop below 1 million before the end of February, according to the website.
The Eagles auxiliary members hosted the breakfast to honor survivors and those who were lost at Pearl Harbor and to pay tribute to veterans of WWII, Ridgeway said.
Veterans of other wars arrived, including those who served in Vietnam and the Gulf War and during the Cold War.
There were 32 guests, and 10 Eagles volunteers served a breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage.
On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise aerial and submarine attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, killing 2,351 servicemen and 57 civilians and children who were on base that morning.
Many U.S. Navy ships and aircraft were also lost in the attack.
Since that day, survivors — most of whom went on to be a part of the war effort that eventually defeated Japan, Germany and Italy — have been honored in ceremonies across the country.
Ketchum said he remembers the day he learned of the attack, at his family home in Portland, Ore.
“My dad had the radio on, and I heard it,” he said.
While the day was memorable, he said the details of that day have been lost to time.
He said the response from the population in Portland was immediate and huge, and people were standing in lines at recruiting stations to sign up for the war effort.
Ketchum was 17 years old at the time and attempted to join the Navy immediately after turning 18.
“I didn’t want to be drafted. It was a big thing at the time,” he said.
He said the Navy turned him away twice because he was color blind.
The U.S. Army accepted his enlistment, and he went on to serve in combat in Europe.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
