Pearl Harbor survivor returns to Hawaii for the first time

DENVER COLORADO – Former Marine Lucian Weltzer never thought he’d set foot on Pearl Harbor, again.

“He never wanted to go back,” said colleague Jim Blane. 

Weltzer witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941.”There was so many guys wounded,” said Weltzer. “We were only a block from the harbor and there was so much smoke.”

The 89-year-old served with the U.S.S Pennsylvania. He says that was the first ship to fire at Japanese bomber planes after the attack.

After six years of service, he left the military, and Pearl Harbor, behind.

Then, Weltzer’s wife found out about The Greatest Generations Foundation. The non-profit group organizes trips for veterans to go back to the battlefields where they fought. The trips are free.

“We feel very strongly about allowing these men to go back,” said Foundation President Timothy Davis. “It’s at least my way to say ‘thank you’ to the veterans who helped create the freedom we enjoy today.”

Lucian Weltzer, along with seven other veterans, left for Hawaii Tuesday afternoon.

Every December, hundreds of Pearl Harbor survivors reunite in Hawaii. Weltzer says he’s looking forward to the trip. However, he also knows it could bring about an emotional moment when he pays tribute to a friend who died onboard the sunken U.S.S. Arizona.

“That’s the only thing I hate about going there,” he said. “Because his body’s still down there.”

Experts estimate there are about 5,000 Pearl Harbor survivors still living.

Retired Marine Corporal Jim Blane says the trip is important, and more young people need to know more about what happened at Pearl Harbor.

“Our stories will be told,” he said. “But we’d like to tell them now, while we’re still living.”