Cause for pause
BRIAN WALKER/Press Pearl Harbor survivor Charlie Imus, of Post Falls, said he’ll never forget how the two men on each side of him in an alphabetical line were called to Wake Island during World War II and he wasn’t. One died during a subsequent battle and the other became a prisoner.
Each Memorial Day Pearl Harbor survivor Charlie Imus remembers his father Bill, who served during World War I and is pictured in the smaller photo. The larger photo is of Imus when he retired in 1961 after serving in the Navy for 20 years. (BRIAN WALKER/Press)
POST FALLS — Whenever Pearl Harbor survivor Charlie Imus raises and lowers his flag at his Post Falls home, it's done with a solemn salute.
"I take a step back and come to attention with a right-hand salute," the 97-year-old World War II Navy veteran said softly.
Each Memorial Day, and many other days, Imus remembers those who have passed and served the country.
One of Imus's most vivid memories of the war was of two men in his squadron, including Richard Jacobs of Cottonwood, Idaho, who were transferred to Wake Island. That’s where a Veterans of Foreign Wars post is named after Jacobs.
"I was between them when they made the announcement of who would go to Wake Island," Imus said. "It went alphabetically — Horseman, Imus, Jacobs."
Imus said that for whatever reason, he wasn't called to Wake and that will always stand out because of what happened to the other two.
"That was a very strange happenstance of me being skipped," Imus said.
Jacobs was wounded during the attack on Wake Island and died two days later.
"I think of that farm kid regularly," Imus said.
Horseman became a prisoner of war, but survived.
The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on Dec. 23, 1941, with the American surrender to Japan.
Imus, one of the few Pearl Harbor survivors left in the region, also thinks of his father Bill each Memorial Day because of his service in the Navy during World War I.
"He was six notches up the ladder in the enlisted ranks and he made 18 crossings of the Atlantic on the U.S.S. President Grant," Imus said. "I remember growing up and thinking that I was destined to be in the Navy."
With all of the ultimate sacrifices that have been made for our freedoms, Imus said he's often left with a lingering question.
"Why people can't be more peaceful, I don't know," he said.
Imus said he hopes that, if people haven't paused before over Memorial Day to remember those who have passed, they'll start now.
"Give a thought once in awhile to those who have died," he said.
Imus said he's fortunate to have survived the attacks on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He was walking down stairs from the barracks to a mess hall on Ford Island during the first wave. From his bunk, he could see and hear the battleships being bombed.
He later reported to the hangars and fired a few rounds at a Japanese airplane.
Imus said he often thinks about that day, those in his air squadron and what could have been.
"You count your blessings when you go through something like that," he said. "The real heroes are the ones who fought and died. It's been a long time now. There's not too many of us left."
Imus said one of the few times he's cried was when he heard "Taps" played at a Navy reunion in San Diego several years ago. It is a bugle call played during flag ceremonies and military funerals.
"It's one of the most beautiful pieces of music," he said. "It brings to mind all those who have died."