Local veteran wants to start local tradition of paying respect to Pearl Harbor victims and survivors

Veteran of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veteran Thomas W. Henderson said Pearl Harbor was the 1941 version of our modern day 9/11 terrorist’s attacks.

To honor those who fell and survived the attack on pearl harbor, Henderson wants to start a local tradition for the community to rise early on December 7th and gather at the Veterans Memorial on Bucklin Park in El Centro.

On Wednesday morning, Henderson saluted at the Memorial and played taps on his cellphone as he paid his respects. He said he did this at about 7:55 a.m. Hawaiian time, the same time of the attack in 1941.

“First and foremost is that our military should never be found unprepared. Secondly, it’s important to understand that even though we believe we understand what’s going in the world, other things can happen totally – pearl harbor is the equivalent to our nine-eleven. So, we have to be prepared,” Henderson said.

Over 2,400 lives were lost in the December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack by the then Japanese Empire.