Lee A Thompson | Day of Remembrance-“Tears of Arizona”

[NOTE] At the time of the bombing of the USS Arizona, 1,177 sailors died, 355 survived. As best I can discover as of this writing, the last surviving crew member, Lou Conter, died eight months ago in April. He was 102, fairly close to his 103rd birthday. In the photo, he was 97.

My research was inconclusive on the number of surviving military personnel at Pearl Harbor, but it seems to range from 11 to 26. It was 83 years ago. If the youngest serving man or woman was 17 on December 7, 1941, that person would be 100 today.

Conter served in the United States Navy. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, he was a quartermaster stationed on the USS Arizona. After the attack, Conter became a Navy pilot flying a patrol bomber. A YouTube video linked at the end of an interview with him in 2017 shows him in remarkable shape in his 90s, sharp as a tack.

In terms of history, it doesn’t seem that long ago, but when you consider the attack was 83 years ago, most of our WWII vets are no longer with us. We must keep their stories alive. You can hear and share their stories using the links below. My favorite is The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, a rich resource with oral histories by the men who lived it. The Lou Conter interview will take you to even more oral histories at the American Veterans Center. Please keep their memory alive.

President Roosevelt summed it up as, “A date that will live in infamy.” He was right. Unfortunately, we’ve had other days, and we can say the same about what has occurred since. But this one is a special day of remembrance, not to minimize those of later dates, such as the horrific attack on September 11, 2001.

The USS Arizona is still at the bottom of the ocean. Of the more than 2,300 who died that day, about half, 1,177, were on the USS Arizona. To this day, oil still leaks from the USS Arizona. Sometimes, it’s called “black tears,” but I prefer another name used, “Tears of Arizona.”

The oil leakage serves as a reminder of the tragic attack and the sacrifice of the 1,177 members of the crew who perished aboard the ship. It’s a powerful symbol of remembrance and loss that visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial can still see today. Incidentally, 23 sets of brothers and a father/son died on the USS Arizona that Sunday morning. One set of brothers did survive.

Additionally, note that about 1,000 sailors remain entombed there.

The memorial was built for $500,000.00. The government provided $200,000.00, with the rest raised privately. Elvis Presley raised a little over 20% of the privately donated money with a concert not long after his discharge from the U.S. Army and a personal $10,000.00 donation. You can listen to accounts of sailors there on December 7, 1941. Consider doing so.

On a more personal note, our band director, Anthony Buonpane, was stationed at Crestwood High School that day. I wasn’t in the band, but I know he was well-loved by students. I do know with Mr. Buonpane as director, CHS was one of the top, if not the top, high school bands in Ohio. I found an album from 1965 by the Crestwood band. It’s linked below.