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Attack On Pearl Harbour

December 7, 2011 by · Comments Off on Attack On Pearl Harbour 

Attack On Pearl HarbourAttack On Pearl Harbour, When Hal Conrad, then 20, called in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago today, the man who received his message accused him of being drunk.

But soon the disbelieving voice at the other end became a stutter. We’re under fire, he stammered.

“What the hell do you think I’m trying to tell you?” Conrad yelled.

Conrad is one of a handful of Montanans who carry firsthand memories of the sneak attack that killed 2,335 military personnel, sunk four battleships, three destroyers and two other ships, destroyed 188 planes and launched America’s involvement in World War II.

Conrad is chairman of Big Sky Chapter 1 of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Or, as he said, “state chairman of nothing now.” He’s been notified the national organization will disband at the end of this month. He doesn’t have anyone left to invite to meetings.

Nationwide, the group has fewer than 3,000 members. In Montana, the last of the group’s members have died, left the state or moved into rest homes. Alzheimer’s disease is erasing memories of some of the few Pearl Harbor survivors who remain.

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