Pearl Harbor Survivors Association

Members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association prepare to lay a commemorative wreath at NAS Whidbey Island, December 7, 2006
Members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association break ground for a USS Oklahoma memorial, December 7, 2006
Steve Sawzin, Pearl Harbor Survivor, from Lorain, Ohio, in a photo taken 2001.

The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, founded in 1958 and recognized by the United States Congress in 1985,[1] is an organization whose members were at or in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii during the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941.

Motto: "Remember Pearl Harbor--Keep America Alert-- Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."[2]

The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.

Organization

The first meeting of what would become the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association took place on December 7, 1954 at the Del Camino Room in Gardena, California where several survivors of the attack gathered to remember their fallen comrades and dear friends. It was at this first meeting that those in attendance swore that they would make the commemoration an annual event. At the official founding dinner in 1958, the eleven survivors who were present at the 1954 meeting were proclaimed the Founding Fathers of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Those eleven survivors were: Mark Ferris, Ed Steffa, Samuel Kronberger, Edward Kronberger, Robert Kronberger, George Haines Jr., Raymond LeBer, James C. Taneyhill, Clarence Bonn, George Schafer, and Louis P. Smith. Following the 1958 meeting, the members began searching for other military survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack. The first organized convention was held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California where over 300 survivors joined in commemoration of the event. Over 1,000 survivors attended the convention held at the Lafayette Hotel in Long Beach California December 7, 1962. At this meeting, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association constitution was presented and ratified by the members. Mark Ferris was the association’s first National President. The organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of California and the PHSA National Insignia was registered in Washington DC.[3]

During the 70th Anniversary Ceremony, the President of the association, William Muehleib, announced that due to the ages and health of the membership the executive board had decided to terminate the corporate association as of December 31, 2011.[4]

U.S. Naval Academy memorial

At the U.S. Naval Academy, in Alumni Hall, a wall is reserved by the Association to commemorate those who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ninety-ninth Congress of the United States of America". Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  2. ↑ "PHSA Founders". Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  3. ↑ "Untitled Document". Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  4. ↑ Disbandment

External links

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