9/11 anniversary On the day when America reflected on the terrorist attacks of a year ago, scores of people also chose the Sept. 11 anniversary to visit the site memorializing victims of an earlier foreign attack on America.
a time for many to
honor Pearl Harbor
Those who died
How did you observe?
One year after
By B.J. Reyes
Associated Press
Tourists ranging from a newlywed couple to a Vietnam veteran and his wife, and two sailors re-enlisting in the Navy, were among the hundreds who flocked yesterday to the somber USS Arizona Memorial.
[ WE REMEMBER ]
Many had both tragedies on their minds.
"I purposely chose today to visit the memorial," said Lindell Love, a Vietnam veteran from Manteno, Ill. "The two tragedies in 1941 and 2001, like the president said in 1941, will live in infamy."
Events at the USS Arizona Memorial and visitors center included a bell-ringing and a one-minute moment of silence to remember the victims of last year's attacks.
"That was very, very touching to me personally," said Love, 57, his voice trembling. "It brought back a lot of memories -- some I chose to hide for years."
The symbolism of the two tragedies was not limited to Pearl Harbor.
An ocean away, a bell saved from the USS Arizona tolled five times at the University of Arizona -- once for each of five alumni killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The man tolling the bell was 99-year-old Bill Bowers, a survivor of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack that plunged the United States into World War II and that also has drawn the most comparison to the attacks on New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
At Pearl Harbor the Navy also replaced American flags aboard vessels with the first Navy Jack, a flag featuring a rattlesnake superimposed across 13 horizontal red and white stripes with the motto "Don't Tread on Me."
Navy officials said the Jack, first used in 1775, will be flown throughout the war on terrorism to honor those who died in last year's attacks.
Meanwhile, Chief Gerard Sekerak was one of two sailors who chose the Arizona Memorial, which straddles the sunken battleship, as the site to be sworn back into the military.
"I thought it would be a great idea, to make it more meaningful, more patriotic, on Sept. 11th," said Sekerak, 36, a Navy journalist from Brook Park, Ohio. "It's just a way to pay tribute to all those who died here 60 years ago and to those that died in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania."
The Arizona Memorial and nearby museum pay tribute to the 2,390 people killed in the attack 60 years ago. Security concerns led to closure of the memorial for six days after the East Coast attacks last year.
Always a somber experience, Pearl Harbor visits have taken on new poignancy for many visitors over the past year.
"We are here on vacation, but we felt like on Sept. 11th it might be an appropriate time to visit the memorial and pay our respects," said Candace Ehringer, 32, of Pasadena, Calif. "It doesn't seem like a day to be frolicking on the beach."
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Remembering
those who diedMore than 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 attacks, including a handful of people with ties to Hawaii. They were mothers, sons, sisters, husbands, and high school classmates, and, whether we knew them, their deaths have touched us.Over the next few days, the Star-Bulletin will give you a glimpse into their lives.
On family excursions to visit Civil War battlefields or national monuments, David Laychak kept his family entertained by singing "God Bless America" in the car. DAVID LAYCHAK
Family-loving man
was a great patriot"He was just such a great patriot," Laurie Laychak told the Brown University Alumni Magazine. "I think this is what's going to help me and the children get through this. He loved our country and our freedoms. He saw working for the Army not as a job, but as something he could do to serve our country."
David met the former Laurie Miller, a Hawaii Baptist Academy graduate, at the Pentagon. Both were from military families and their friendship turned into love.
When Laychak came home from his job as an Army budget analyst, he would hug and play with his children before he walked in the house. Sometimes he'd shoot basketball with son Zachary in the driveway or carry his daughter Jennifer around on his shoulders.
At his funeral service, letters from his children were shared with mourners.
"It's hard to live my life without you. I thought you were going to be with me my whole life," wrote Jennifer.
"Someday, I want to be like him," Zachary concluded.
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The question was asked by Star-Bulletin reporter Genevieve Suzuki. How did you
observe Sept. 11?
Stanford Togashi
Kaimuki; age 25
"I looked at pictures on MSN. They had pictures of Americans, Americans in Afghanistan and Afghan people. Just pictures. To remember what everyone has been through."
Tara Sim
Kaneohe; age 22
"I was in my oceanography class, and at about 10:15 the professor stopped lecturing and asked us to observe a moment of silence to remember."
Robert Kennedy
Kapahulu; age 63
"You know what I'm doing? I'm celebrating. I think it's the best thing to happen to the country -- to wake them up."
Keith Melancon
Waipahu; age 24
"At work we shut down our systems at 10, went outside at 10:06 and joined hands for the moment of silence. Our manager had a few words to say. All of us are wearing red, white and blue, and these ribbons go with it."
Wendy Yoshikawa
Ewa Beach; age 34
"I went to Momilani Elementary today, and they had an assembly. Our daughter goes to school there. I'm a flight attendant and my husband is a firefighter, so we went in uniform."
Nancy Binnie
Scottsdale, Ariz.; age 65
"A lot of remembering. Listening to the kids down here, it reminds me of how I felt when I saw the towers coming down and how I felt the next day, wondering what else was going to happen, and thinking how Israel must feel dealing with bombings and terrorism every day."
