![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As she began her research, she soon discovered how little information had been compiled about the 1,177 casualties. Too late to turn back nowīuel wanted people to hear the stories of the Arizona crewmen who died in the attack. Both have written at length about their experience. Two of the six men George helped escape the ship were Bruner and Stratton, now still among the last of the Arizona survivors. Last December, the Navy finally recognized George, posthumously, presenting his daughter, Joe Ann Taylor, with a Bronze Star for Valor during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor. George died without official commendation. Stratton, Bruner and Potts visited the White House in July 2017 to ask President Donald Trump for help in recognizing a sailor who rescued defied orders from the deck of a supply ship and rescued the last six Arizona crewmen as the burning ship sank. Their website is at, where visitors can donate to help survivors and family members who want to return to Pearl Harbor in the future. They have also helped collect money for Arizona crewmen who have needed help. Nikki and her father, Randy Stratton, have worked to collect stories and photographs from the survivors to display online. She said the men are disappointed that the memorial is closed and have talked about trying to help raise money to speed repairs. Nikki Stratton, granddaughter of Donald Stratton, keeps in contact with all five of the survivors and has helped coordinate travel in past years. The USS Arizona Memorial remains closed because of structural problems and isn't expected to reopen to visitors before March. The remembrance ceremonies at Pearl Harbor will be missing more than the Arizona survivors this year. The Arizona Commemorative Air Force will stage a flyover in a Boeing B-17G and a Douglas C-47A at 10:55 a.m., the local time when the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor began Dec. In Phoenix, the state Department of Veterans' Services will host Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Friday at Wesley Bolin Plaza, on West Washington Avenue near the state Capitol. Two years ago, four of the survivors made the trip to Pearl Harbor as the remains of two of their fallen crewmates were interred in the sunken ship's wreckage. It's the first time in recent memory that none of the Arizona's living crew members have returned to the site of the attack. In the past, USS Arizona survivors have rung the bell as part of Pearl Harbor Day ceremonies, but this year, none of the five remaining survivors will make the trip to Tucson or to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. The UA will mark the 77th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack Friday morning at the memorial, which sits a few hundred feet from a tower that houses one of the USS Arizona's bells. And there is something about the Arizona that resonates." "Everybody is very happy when I approach them," she said. No one else, it turned out, had done the work in all these years. ![]() She's written bios of 394 of the crewmen, making her way through about one-third of the list. Two and a half years later, she's still at it. "I assumed somebody had done this before and that I just needed to find it and get their permission." "I said, 'I’ll help you track it down. I'll give you two weeks,'" said Buel, whose husband, David Carter, designed the memorial. As work progressed on campus, Bobbie Jo Buel, a former newspaper editor, offered to go a step further and compile short biographies of the 1,177 sailors and Marines as a way to help visitors go beyond the names. The UA memorial, dedicated in 2016, was meant to ensure the names of those crewmen weren't forgotten. But some stories have never been told, especially stories about the 1,177 crew members who died in the attack. Over time, other stories from the Arizona have emerged, about unsung heroes and harrowing escapes. 7, 1941.Īfter 77 years, the story of the mighty battleship has been told again and again: how it took heavy fire, how a bomb blew it apart, how it sank into the harbor. On the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, embedded in the curving brick walls of a memorial, are rows of medallions, each bearing the name of a USS Arizona crew member killed when Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. Watch Video: 77 years on, still stories to tell about USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor ![]()
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