Ceremony at the Intrepid marks 82 years since Pearl Harbor attack
NEW YORK -- The Intrepid on the West Side of Manhattan observed 82 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor with VIP guests and a wreath-laying in the Hudson River.
CBS New York's Dave Carlin spoke with a man who was there to honor his late father and his fellow service members.
A total of 2,403 people died resulting from the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Mike Galella, of Cortlandt Manor, released a wreath honoring those victims over the side of the Intrepid, landing with a splash.
"I get chills because I always think of my dad," Galella said.
He talked about his father, Armando "Chick" Gallela, who, up until his death two years ago at age 100, came to the Intrepid's annual gathering to remember friends and honor the brave and fallen.
Galella describes what his father had seen on that day 82 years ago.
"My dad said he could see their faces. They flew as low as the treetops," he said. "He said it was terrible. He said, 'I don't wanna die in the ship' ... And he lived a long life, which all those other men that died this day did not get that chance."
On Oahu, the commemoration there included Ira Schab, who traveled to a Hawaii from his home in Oregon at the age of 103.
In New York City, no one with his firsthand knowledge could be here, so remembering must never stop, said organizers.
"We're losing about 900 World War II veterans a week," Brigadier General Daniel H. Hershkowitz said.
With time marching on, never forget becomes the responsibility of new generations.
"How proud they should be of their relatives who lived in that time and fought for their country, and for the cause to give us the freedoms that we have today," one woman said.
She says on Pearl Harbor Day and every day, give thanks for American courage and sacrifice.