the legacy of those who fought here lives in every sailor today with the words remember pearl harbor a battle cry that united the nation. they answered their nation s call. they placed themselves in harm s way. and they fulfilled their oath to the fullest extent. this is what pearl looked like in 1941, island surrounded by the pacific fleet. when the attack began, japan focused on battle ship row. torpedoes hit the west virginia and oklahoma, which capsized, trapping 400 sailors inside. the california, maryland, tennessee and vestal also took hits, pennsylvania, nevada and utah damaged or destroyed. a dive bomb penetrated arizona s deck. it sank in minutes. forever intombing 900 sailors and now a memorial to that fateful day. today these heroes fight a different enemy, age. but their memories are clear. i looked up and i saw the red ball on the airplane and i
one witness i spoke with is welcoming. 95-year-old robert lee says he s glad to see japanese prime minister shinzo abe making this trip. i think it s the greatest thing in the world. i think we ve already gone through quite a bit of healing. reporter: he remembers well the day of japan s surprise attack 75 years ago when more than 2,400 people lost their lives. it s very vivid in my memory. very much so. reporter: still a young man, just two years out of high school rotc, he looked on from his bedroom. later dashing to his front lawn as japanese bombers flew low over his home. headed for battle ship row. i grabbed my .22 caliber target rifle and shot all 16, .22 caliber lead shots. reporter: at the plane? at the planes. reporter: thinking it would work? of course not. no! [ laughter ] just, to kill a mouse.
when you talked with them and ask them what they want younger generations to know and remember, what do they say? they talk about the bravery and when this attack was happening, so many people were unclear about what was happening. they were getting attacked and returned fire and tried to fight back in the hours afterwards. the efforts to find their brothers who were out in this battle ship row who were struggling for their lives. it s one of the most important things we hear over and over again from the survivors. it is important. thank you so much. my own son is learning about it in history class right now. we ll be right back after a quick break. bl jack recently had geico help him with renters iurance.