Veterans remember their service on Pearl Harbor Day

Joyce and David Nesbit eat breakfast at an event commemorating the 78th anniversary of a Japanese surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base. David Nesbit is a Vietnam War veteran and he and Joyce both contribute to veterans organizations to this day.
Joyce and David Nesbit eat breakfast at an event commemorating the 78th anniversary of a Japanese surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base. David Nesbit is a Vietnam War veteran and he and Joyce both contribute to veterans organizations to this day.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day was yesterday, commemorating the 2,403 Americans killed in the surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii 78 years ago.

Salon 940, the local chapter of the Eight and Forty veterans organization, held their fourth-annual remembrance event for the day yesterday, inviting all Union County veterans to PJ's Coffee for breakfast and fellowship.

"We do this every Dec. 7th for our veterans and their families," Salon 940 Secretary Marilyn Pepper said. "It's just a way to let our veterans know we're thinking of them and appreciate their service. You know, we have Veteran's Day, Memorial Day … but this is a reminder we can honor our veterans any day of the year."

In attendance were several veterans from different conflicts throughout United States history, as well as civilians who wanted to learn more about Salon 940.

David Nesbit, a Vietnam veteran, was there with his wife, Joyce. He deployed to Vietnam in January 1968, shortly before the Tet Offensive was launched. Nesbit was part of the 1st Cavalry artillery division. He is now a member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and contributes to the Wounded Warrior Project.

"We try to pay a little service to those that were killed in the Pearl Harbor bombing, World War II and also the people who have been lost in all these wars we've been in. We owe a lot to them," he said. "We need to take responsibility for what we have now. We take it for granted."

The Nesbits said it is important to them to continue honoring veterans more than 50 years after David's service because they have continued to secure the freedom American citizens enjoy.

"That's what we do — pay the price for freedom," Joyce Nesbit said.

"Nothing is free," David Nesbit added. "We are lucky to be living in the United States. I never thought much of it until I was in a foreign country, Vietnam, and saw how they live. The freedom we have — to walk around, talk to people, express how you feel — over there, if you did that, they'd kill you. How lucky we are to live in the United States. I think a lot of the United States."

Antonio Willis, a civilian, said his father also served in Vietnam. He said his father was responsible for herbicide operations — dropping Agent Orange on Vietnam's massive forests and farmland. His father was exposed to Agent Orange, he said, comparing the effects to nuclear fallout and radiation poisoning.

Bob Mayhan, a veteran of the Korean War, was also in attendance. He was a member of the United States Marine Corps and spent his 19th year in Korea.

"The Marine Corps takes 12 weeks to train you how to kill someone, and they gave me 12 months to practice it," he said. "I didn't talk about anything until one day — he's a senator now — Trent Garner said he wanted to hear my story. … He came to my house one day and just listened."

Mayhan served in Korea for 12 months, five days and two hours, he said. He was part of a mortar section, helping aircraft mortar targets from the ground.

"That job requires you looking out for five other people, making sure they're fed and everything else," he said. "You're responsible."

He was in the National Reserves in Little Rock when he was activated for service. Two friends from high school, Ed Greer (pitcher to Mayhan's catcher on the high school baseball team) and Gordon Adams, were activated with him; their names are engraved on the Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial.

"I have no desire to go to Korea, but I'll tell you this — if [President Harry S.] Truman hadn't fired [Gen. Douglas] MacArthur, that little yo-yo over there now [Kim Jong-un] wouldn't be doing what he's doing and there would be one Korea," he said.

Several members of Mayhan's family have also served, including his nephew, who worked in secure communications during the 9/11 attacks; he was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, where President George W. Bush was spirited away to immediately after the attack, meeting Sec. of State Colin Powell when Air Force One arrived.

While he is not involved in any veterans' organizations officially, Mayhan said he is glad to see events such as yesterday's that honor veterans and give young people the opportunity to learn about their nation's history.

"I'm all for it. The people nowadays have no clue that freedom is not free," he said. "The people walking on the street now, these young men — they call them millennials — they have no clue."

Pepper said the Pearl Harbor Day event is held annually to give veterans an opportunity to meet one another and learn about veterans' services available locally.

"We have out snacks for them and allow them to come inside and share their stories, build that camaraderie with each other," she said.

Today marks the anniversary of the United States' entry into WWII, when they joined the Allied forces to defeat the Axis powers, comprised of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and fascist Italy. On that day, President Franklin Roosevelt described Dec. 7 as "a date which will live in infamy."

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