NEW ORLEANS, La.– On Wednesday, flag wavers lined the sidewalk outside the National World War II Museum in New Orleans to greet the oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, who was celebrating his 105th birthday.
“It feels amazing,” Joseph Eskenazi, told reporters after posing for photos with his great-grandson, his great-granddaughter, who is 21 months old, and six other World War II veterans, all in their 90s.
Eskenazi will turn 105 on January 30. On Friday, he boarded an Amtrak train in California bound for New Orleans. Other Army, Navy, and Marine Corps veterans flew in for the occasion.
Organizations For Veterans
They were there as part of the Soaring Valor Program, a philanthropic effort of actor Gary Sinise’s foundation dedicated to assisting veterans and first responders that served in Pearl Harbour. The initiative organizes museum visits for WWII veterans and their guardians.
Eskenazi was a private in the Army when the attack occurred in Pearl Harbour. He remembers being woken up by a bomb that fell near where he was sleeping at Schofield Barracks but didn’t explode. He also remembers the Japanese bombs sinking the battleship USS Arizona and the machine gun fire from enemy planes making dust around him when he drove a bulldozer across a field so it could be used to clear runways.
2,400 Troops Killed
“I’m not sure why – my hand went up when they asked for volunteers,” Eskenazi explained. “Everyone else didn’t raise their hand because they knew it meant death. I did it automatically.”
He was at the Army’s Schofield Barracks when the attack on Pearl Harbour began on December 7, 1941, drawing the United States into the war. Approximately 2,400 troops were killed.
Eskenazi and his fellow soldiers posed for pictures in front of displays of airplanes and Higgins boats from Pearl Harbour, which were used for landing on beaches during World War II.
“Thank you, guys, for providing us with a country worth fighting for,” said veteran Billy Hall, who rose to the rank of major in the Marines after entering in 1941.
The National D-Day Museum opened its doors in 2000 and has grown in size and scope since then.
SOURCE – (AP)
