EARL J. “CHUCK” KOHLER: PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR

On the morning of December 7th, Earl J. “Chuck” Kohler was working on Ford Island – the airfield and hangar in the middle of Pearl Harbor.  As the enemy attack began, Chuck found himself behind a .50 caliber machine gun, fending off Japanese fighters.  After Pearl Harbor, Kohler was deployed to the Marshall Islands, witnessing the surrender of the Japanese in August of 1945. 

Now at 102, Kohler is one of the last Pearl Harbor survivors and has made it his mission to share the story of that fateful day with students and groups of all types to keep alive the memory of all who died.

JOSEPH PLUMB MARTIN: A SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION

At the age of 15, Joseph Plumb Martin became a member of the Continental Army in 1776. As with many of our country’s best soldiers, he stayed to fight because of dedication to the cause, his fellow warriors and his admiration for General George Washington, whose leadership, tenacity and care kept the citizen army engaged through unthinkable trials and hardships.  Martin survived Valley Forge, saw action at Germantown, Fort Mifflin, and Monmouth, and was present at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered. Years later, he committed his memories to paper, publishing a narrative in 1830. When he died in 1850 at age 89, his gravestone read simply: A Soldier of the Revolution.