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Bellaire Ceremony Honors Lives Lost at Pearl Harbor

Photo by Dylan McKenzie A group of veterans salutes the American flag hanging outside the Bellaire Veterans of Foreign Wars Wednesday morning.

On a bright, sunny Hawaiian morning in 1941, American sailors in Pearl Harbor awoke to the sounds of explosions and gunfire, quickly followed by some of the most frightening words a serviceman could hear: “Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is not drill.”

After the unexpected attack, six U.S. Navy battleships lay at the bottom of the harbor, and more than 2,000 sailors and Marines were dead, launching the United States into World War II. Seventy-five years later, local veterans honored those who were lost in the attack.

Members of the Bellaire Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 626 gathered in front of their building Wednesday morning to raise the flag in tribute to the men who were lost at Pearl Harbor, as well as those who fought in World War II.

The veterans raised the flag at 7:40 a.m., about the time when the Japanese aircraft were beginning their assault on the Pacific fleet.

The VFW had a special guest to raise the flag — local World War II Army veteran William Schluter, who was at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day.

Now 95 years old, Schluter raised the flag to half-mast as the veterans saluted the flag respectfully, before heading inside the VFW to enjoy a hot breakfast.

Schluter said he appreciated being able to participate, saying that “it means a lot.”

“I didn’t have time to remember much of anything,” Schluter said of the attack. He was laying communication wires on the north shore of Oahu when the attack began. He went on to serve at Saigon, the Philippines, and Saipan during the war as a private first class in the U.S. Army.

VFW Commander Terry Wildman said that he was grateful for the turnout for the flag raising, and that they were all proud to remember the Americans who fought during the attack.

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