Recalling that infamous day

COEUR d'ALENE — Although it's been 74 years since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, those who were alive on that infamous day still remember the shock that set the world ablaze for the USA.

"The war broke out when I was still in high school,” said 92-year-old World War II Navy veteran Bob Eachon.

Eachon, of Hayden, had a boxing scholarship at the University of Idaho and entered the service as a Petty Officer Third Class in 1943. He spent more than two years in the South Pacific. He said he remembers listening to Tokyo Rose on the radio and how tenacious the Japanese fighters were.

"The Japanese had come over just about every night, a couple times a night, bombing us all the time," he said.

Eachon was a Seebee — US Naval Construction Forces — and he and his construction battalion played a pivotal role in the turning point of the war.

"Our ship was one of the ones that built the airstrip (for the Enola Gay) that dropped the 'Big One,'" he said.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day vividly brings these violent and victorious moments to the forefront of WWII survivors' minds as the rest of the nation pays homage to those who served and sacrificed. Schools and institutions hold ceremonies to educate upcoming generations about what this day means for America and those who willingly put their lives on the line knowing war was inevitable for Uncle Sam.

"I think its all right," Eachon said of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day honors. "A lot of the guys deserve it. I was one of the fortunate ones that came back."

It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's announcement that America was going to war, plus complete disbelief at the news, that motivated a young Harold Kiel and five of his friends to enlist.

"I did it because of the attack on Pearl Harbor," said Kiel, now 92. "We felt we should do something for our country.”

Kiel, of Hayden, was living in Minnesota at the time of the attack. He was the only one in his group of friends who went into the Navy; the others went into the Army. Kiel provided emergency assistance to victims of kamikaze attacks during the war, and narrowly escaped with his life. He documented his experiences and war stories in his diary from 1942-45, which has been turned into a book, "One Came Home: Harold's Voyage."

He said Pearl Harbor Day is a time to reflect on the past.

"I look at the fact that so many people were killed in the attack," he said.

More than 2,400 Americans perished in the surprise attack and nearly 1,200 were wounded. It was an act of war on a nation that had not yet engaged.

"I served my country the way most did," Kiel said. "I feel very fortunate to still be here."

The WWII veterans shared a few thoughts about the violence, acts of terror, refugee crises and other travesties occurring around the world in modern times.

"Each one of them is a disaster or catastrophe," Kiel said. "It's terrible something can't be done to stem the tide of aggression. The government should really pass some type of legislation to deal with those crises."

Eachon said supposedly, America has more patriots these days, "but there are so many screwy people to counteract them."

"I think they're all a bunch of goofy nuts," he said of those causing the atrocities. "What can you do about it? There's so many mixed-up people these days."