PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- Three heroic civilian firefighters killed in the 1941 Japanese attack on Hawaii were finally honored Friday, the 43rd anniversary of the infamous bombing which triggered America's entry into World War II.
Solemn cermonies were held aboard the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor to posthumously award Purple Hearts to the three, who died fighting bomb-spawned blazes in an Air Force hanger as Japanese planes rained explosives on the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Six of the 22 firefighters wounded in the attack received the Purple Heart in 1944 but the three who perished were never recognized for their heroism.
The Hawaii civilian firefighters were killed as they desperately showered water onto planes at Hickam Air Force Base to try to keep them from catching fire, drawing water from a pool of water in a bomb crater.
'We were busy laying out our line, and all of a sudden we saw this (Japanese)plane coming over, shooting bullets, strafing, and then he dropped a bomb,' said Max Itoga, 72, one of the original firefighters.
'I saw my fellow fireman, (hoseman Harry Tuck Lee) Pang, facing down, and when I turned him over, I saw blood oozing from his stomach.'
'I asked for help from the GIs on the side, but they said 'No, wait yet, we're going to have another airplane attack,'' said Itoga. 'Sure enough, another plane hovering over the hanger dropped his bomb on us.'
Itoga said he went into the hanger and found Capt. John Carriera and Capt. Thomas Macy covered with rubble. 'When I saw them, they were facing up, and I knew they had already expired,' said Itoga.
'When I saw the rising sun on the plane, I was scared,' said Itoga. 'I thought the airplane maneuver was just practice, but when I saw buildings being destroyed and victims lying on the ground, I thought, 'Oh no, this is war!'
The surviving relatives of Carreira, Macy, and Pang received the Purple Hearts as a misting rain fell onto the memorial built above the sunken battleship, the last resting place of more than 1,000 men.
'I feel great when I see that medal,' said Emil Carreira, whose father was one of those honored. 'I sure wish my mother were here. She died seven years ago.
'It's too bad she isn't here to receive this medal for him,' he said. 'She was always proud of him.'
The original citations noted that the Honolulu Fire Department is the only department in the nation ever to come under enemy fire.
