Four of the living survivors who were on board the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attacks reunited in Hawaii on Dec. 2. According to KITV 4, this gathering was the last official Pearl Harbor Visitor Center reunion for the men, all of whom are in their 90s.
John Anderson, Louis Conter, Lauren Bruner and Donald Stratton were the only living survivors able to travel to Hawaii during this time in their life after service. While 335 soldiers survived the attacks, only nine remain, and five were not able to make the trip.
The men arrived to a plethora of salutes and tourists looking to pay respects, in addition to music courtesy of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Band. After viewing a live video of divers exploring the sunken ship the veterans once called home, they assembled for a news conference.
"It's always like yesterday when we're out here," stated former servicemember Louis Conter, 93, of Grass Valley, California, during the conference.
Sunday, Dec. 7, marks the 73rd anniversary of the attacks, which killed 2,400 servicemembers in 1941. The four veterans will spend the week leading up to Pearl Harbor Day in Hawaii, catching up with each other and remembering their fallen comrades. According to Military Times, they will be honored during a private ceremony on Sunday, where they will drink a bottle of wine given to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association by President Gerald Ford in 1975. The wine will be served in glasses that are exact replicas of those that were on board the USS Arizona.
Some of the men, including Lauren Bruner and Louis Conter, plan to be interred at the sunken ship, reported Military Times. Currently, there are ashes of 38 survivors resting there.
While this is the last official gathering of the survivors, the men plan to continue casual meetings, since they have forged a strong friendship throughout the years.