Pearl Harbor survivors compare attacks

Friday, Sept. 21, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

As a 15-year-old Army Air Corps private stationed at Wheeler Air Field, H. Lee Gerson watched the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and his base on Dec. 7, 1941.

As a 75-year-old Las Vegas retiree, Gerson watched on television as terrorists flew hijacked commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11.

He said there was one similarity about the attacks. "It's the second time we were caught with our pants down."

But for Gerson, Nevada president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, and other World War II veterans, the differences in the two attacks far outweigh the similarities.

The survivors association represents 7,000 to 8,000 military survivors, about 60 of whom live in Nevada.

"When you compare the two attacks, it's apples to oranges," said Gerson, who lied about his age to join the Army in a what was a time of peace. "At Pearl Harbor, the enemy attacked a military base, and we had a chance to fight back. In New York, it was civilians who had no chance."

Andy Hoover of Las Vegas, who served in the Navy and also was at Pearl Harbor -- where he watched the U.S.S. Arizona explode -- echoed Gerson. "Both attacks were done by a bunch of cowards who would not take you on face-to-face if both of you had weapons.

"But this is not like 1941 where we knew the enemy was Japan and could retaliate right away. This enemy today hides in other people's countries and twists the religious issues to commit their acts of terrorism."

Although the death count in New York and Washington won't be known for some time -- estimates are that more than 6,000 are missing -- it is expected to be far worse than Pearl Harbor, where nearly 2,400 were killed and about 1,200 wounded.

And although 19 terrorists were killed -- they committed suicide in the attacks -- in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, 64 Japanese were killed at Pearl Harbor.

Jay Finnern, past national secretary of the survivors association, said he has no idea how the United States could have stopped the attacks in New York and Washington. But Pearl Harbor was different, he said.

"We manned our battle stations and fought back as best as we could," said Finnern, a Wisconsin resident who served aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Monaghan, which rammed and sank a Japanese sub at Pearl Harbor. "And if we had had just 10 additional minutes of warning, we could have stopped them.

"I'm still in shock that they (terrorists) were able to hijack four planes in one day and do so much damage. Last week I had a feeling of helplessness as I watched the plane crash into the World Trade Center. It's an entirely different war today."

Roy Heath, longtime master of ceremonies for the Pearl Harbor Day remembrance ceremony at Palm Mortuary on Main Street -- the site of the local Pearl Harbor monument -- said this year's 60th anniversary ceremony will incorporate the recent attacks with the one that pulled the United States into World War II.

Heath said he has been impressed by the resolve of the people of New York and Washington.

"There was so much more confusion in 1941," he said. "My father was stationed in San Francisco, and in the 48 hours after the attack, when it was still not known whether the Japanese would attack the mainland after hitting Hawaii, there were blackouts and overall panic.

"They (New York officials) just seem so much more organized today with the modern technology and faster communication."

Heath, who served in the Air Force for 22 years and in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970, agreed that the United States should have been better prepared for a terrorist attack.

"It's unbelievable how much our intelligence let us down this time," Heath said. "Our big mistake is that we referred to incidents (such as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) as 'criminal acts' when they were clearly acts of war.

"I hope our retaliation is quick and decisive," he said.

Hoover, 79, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association Chapter 2 -- the Southern Nevada branch -- said he will not alter his lifestyle, despite the threat of additional attacks.

"I don't feel as unsafe as others say they feel," he said. "You have to go about your business. You can't let them (terrorists) know they have stopped you from doing the things you enjoy doing.

"I'd go fight them now, but who needs an 80-year-old man in combat? The best thing we Pearl Harbor survivors can do is continue our programs like going into schools and speaking to children, answering their questions about both attacks and helping them learn and understand."