Pearl Harbor Day Ceremony-- Part 3: Sinking of the USS Luce Still "Branded In My Soul"

This took place December 7, 2017, in Ocala, Florida.

JAMES PHILLIPS

On May 4, 1945, his ship, the USS Luce. was "sunk in five minutes" by a kamikaze attack while on picket duty near Okinawa.  Mr. Phillips recalls his shipmates dying.

He was 21 at the time.

"(The sinking) is branded in my soul.  I can still hear the cries of the wounded."

Also honored at the ceremony was HEMMETT BOWEN JR.

He was a Medal of Honor winner who died saving his comrades by throwing himself on a grenade in the Vietnam War.

--GreGen