‘With us in spirit’: Pearl Harbor day of remembrance ceremony held in Norfolk
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Dec. 7, 1941, was a day that is still remembered over 80 years later.
This infamous day was when over 2,400 Americans were killed at Pearl Harbor, and hundreds more injured, in the surprise attack that would eventually begin the U.S involvement in World War II. Dozens gathered on Dec. 7, 2023, at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek to remember those who did and didn’t make it home.
It was a somber ceremony, and one of the first with no survivors present.
“They are with us in spirit today, and their traditions will carry on through some of the family members who are here today with us,” said U.S. Navy Captain David Gray.
Family members said it’s important to keep their stories alive, so every year they come back. They are carrying on past traditions like the eight bell chimes for those who didn’t make it home, and they start new ones like placing a flower in honor of their loved one.
“We’ve never done that before, and I think it made the family members feel like a big part of it,” said daughter of Pearl Harbor survivor Ellen Burns. Her father was Frank Chebetar.
Other family members like Francine Gagne said this is the most attended ceremony they’ve had in years. Her father, Wilfred, joined the Navy in 1940, and was stationed in Pearl Harbor one year later on the USS Tennessee.
Francine said he wasn’t on the ship that morning because he had already left for church.
“It was a Sunday morning, and he had gotten over to fleet landing, and low and behold all hell broke loose,” said Francine.
Francine said her father didn’t talk about that day a lot.
“It had impacted him so much,” said Francine. “He was always a man of few words, but very few when it came to something that impactful in his life.”
Burns said her father didn’t talk about that day much either, but dedicated his life to keeping the memory of Pearl Harbor alive. She said she hopes ceremonies like this will inspire younger generations to seek further understanding of what happened that day.
“I think being able to hear firsthand from a family member or someone who served in the service during that time or had a relationship with someone who served during that time, they’re hearing that history firsthand, more or less than reading it in a book,” said Burns.
Chebetar founded the Pearl Harbor survivors group in Virginia Beach in the early 1970s, and also played a significant role in getting the memorial that stands today on JEB Little Creek.
As the memorial has aged, and some of the benches are falling apart, Burns is working to honor her father by cleaning it up once again, raising money through a GoFundMe page.
“We’re trying to replace the stakes and name plaques for all the survivors,” Burns said. “So we are trying to come up with a list of the names so we can have them represented once again.”
These efforts are continuing to pay tribute to the greatest generation who demonstrated courage and fought to defend the freedoms the country has today.
“It’s so important for, I think, younger generations to know the history — to know the impact, the grief, that so many went through, and how important it is today to remember,” said Francine. “It is important for us to remember, the education is just so critical.”
The base supports the memorial, but upkeep is funded through private organizations.
If you’d like to help financially with getting the name plaques replaced, click here.
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