PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR
EARL J. “CHUCK” KOHLER
At age 16, Chuck Kohler convinced his dad to sign his enlistment form and entered the U.S. Navy.
On the morning of December 7th, Chuck was working on Ford Island, the airfield and hangar in the middle of Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese surprise attack hit. He retrieved a .50 caliber machine gun, mounted it on a nearby American plane and fought off the attacking aircraft. After Pearl Harbor, Kohler was deployed to the Marshall Islands until the surrender of Japan in August 1945
Like so many of his generation, when Kohler left the service, he simply went on with his life until he returned to Pearl Harbor 68 years later.
Standing on the deck of the USS Arizona Memorial, Kohler made a solemn promise to do what he could to bring the well-deserved honor and continued remembrance to those lost. Each December 7th, Chuck leads a ceremony to light a beacon at the top of Mt. Diablo in California, keeping alive the memory of those who died on that day.
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“We need to remember all of those who gave their lives in service to this country. It’s worth the fight, believe you me. Liberty… liberty and freedom are worth the fight.”
-Earl J. “Chuck” Kohler