REMEMBERING SHIPMATES
USS Utah survivors honor the fallen
Survivors of Dec. 7, 1941, pay tribute
It may not be as well known as the USS Arizona, the battleship that sank on the other side of Ford Island.
But the men who served on the USS Utah and their families are determined that the sailors who died on the ship during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor will not be forgotten.
The 58 sailors killed on the Utah 65 years ago today were recognized yesterday at the USS Utah Memorial in a small ceremony at sunset. Nine survivors and about 40 family members and friends attended as the flag over the memorial was raised from half-mast and then lowered as a bugler played and Navy riflemen fired a 21-gun salute.
Just beyond the concrete pier and plaque, the rusted wreckage of the battleship lies in the water about three-quarters of a mile northwest of the USS Arizona on the Pearl City side of Ford Island.
As with the USS Arizona, the bodies of some of the men killed on Dec. 7 are still interred in the battleship.
Cecil Calavan was just 17 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. A shipmate told him to get a shave that morning.
"That saved my life," Calavan said. A few minutes later, a torpedo hit the compartment he had been in. Calavan said he jumped in the water and swam for a nearby boat, but a Japanese fighter strafed the rescue boat and Calavan jumped in the water again and swam the rest of the way to shore.
Yesterday's ceremonies were bittersweet for Calavan. He was able to reconnect with shipmates and share stories, but he also remembers those who died.
Four generations of Calavan's family traveled with him to Pearl Harbor for yesterday's ceremonies. For many of them, it was their first visit.
"These men defended our country," said Pamela Becerra, 56, about her father. "If it wasn't for them where would this country be today?"
"It's an honor to be here," Brandon Christensen, 16, said. "It makes me feel proud to be his great-grandchild."
It may be his first trip, Christensen said, but it won't be his last. He said he'll bring his children here one day.
Other family members said that even after the last survivor dies, they will work with other sons and daughters of USS Utah survivors and continue to come to Pearl Harbor to make sure the men are remembered.
Jim Taylor, a retired Navy veteran who supervises the daily raising and lowering of the flag over the USS Utah memorial, helped organize yesterday's ceremonies.
Taylor is hopeful that once the construction on Ford Island is completed, the USS Utah memorial will be more accessible to the public and more people will be able to visit.
There are plans for a historic trail on Ford Island that will include the Utah Memorial as a stop, and there is talk about the National Park Service taking over management of the memorial.
Calavan, 82, said this won't be his last visit to remember his shipmates. He plans to be here again in five years for the next major gathering of Pearl Harbor survivors.
