100-Year-Old WWII Veteran Reflects on Pearl Harbor Day

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is Dec. 7, a day to remember and reflect on the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor that killed 2,403 service members and civilians, and brought the U.S. into World War II.

“I don’t think anybody, the guys around me, knew where Pearl Harbor was,” WWII veteran C.C. Collie Jr. said. “I didn’t anticipate going to battle until Pearl Harbor.”

Collie was in college at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania on Dec. 7, 1941. At 20 years old, Collie went from college to war.

“I served on a destroyer in the Pacific,” Collie said.

He was on the U.S.S. Blue. “Everybody’s young. Our captain was 36. We called him the old man!”

Age is just a number, and Collie celebrated a big one this week.

“Yesterday I was 100,” Collie said noting his century birthday, and his secret to longevity. “Well, I exercise every day, and I drink a single malt scotch every day.”

Though decades have passed since the WWII Navy veteran was in uniform, his memories of dodging Kamakazis and typhoons on the U.S.S. Blue in the Western Pacific is crystal clear.

“I have 7 Battle Stars, which is a big thing for me,” Collie said.

Collie was in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered and WWII ended; a witness to history.

“September 2nd is when they signed the surrender,” Collie said. “It was such a relief to us to know we weren’t gonna get shot anymore.”

Every day there are fewer and fewer WWII veterans around to tell their stories.

“If you don’t study history, you’re doomed to repeat it,” Collie said. “And we don’t need a World War III.”

Content Source

Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News

texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Back to top button