To commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks, which launched the United States into World War II, the USS Midway Museum hosted a ceremony on its flight deck with a two-bell ceremony, wreath laying and missing-man flyover.
"It's a day to remember my dad and my mom and all those people that served on ships like this and gave their all for this country," said Robert Schenkelberg.
Schenkelberg got emotional this morning talking about his father Clayton, who was honored at Saturday's ceremony. Clayton passed away three years ago at the age of 103. On the day of the attack, he would have been a 24-year-old sailor, working in the torpedo shop on the submarine base. In describing his actions that day, his son says it wasn't really courage.
"I don't think he thought of it as bravery, it was doing his job which is the way most of the guys I've talked to from that era viewed it," Schenkelberg said. "'That's my job. I'm in the Navy. I signed up to defend the country. That's what I did.'"
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Karl Zingheim, the museum's ship historian, provided keynote remarks during the event. A San Diego native, Zingheim graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1986. He has been with the museum for more than 20 years and helped establish the exhibits department for the USS Midway Museum.
The event was free and open to the public. Following the event, attendees received complimentary admission to enjoy the museum for the day.
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Navy took the lives of more than 2,400 military members and civilians, including several San Diegans.
