PRESS RELEASE NO. 120-2023
7 December 2023, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA – The Philippine Consulate, represented by Consul Pamela Durian-Bailon, took part in the ceremony commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that took place on 7 December 1941.
With the theme “Legacy of Hope,” the event paid tribute to the more than 2,300 Americans who died in the surprise attack by Imperial Japanese forces, the survivors, as well as veterans who have passed on. Captain Ray Daniel Hower of the US Marine Corps, a third generation Marine Corps jet pilot and naval aviator, was the keynote speaker. Capt. Hower is the great nephew of Lieutenant Commander Louis Conter, US Navy (retired), who, at 102 years old, is the last surviving crew member of the USS Arizona.
The ceremony was held at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and attended by Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Admiral John Aquilino, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Rear Admiral Steven Barnett, Commander of US Navy Region Hawaii, Mr. Tom Leatherman, Superintendent of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, flag officers in the US Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, survivors with their families, members of the consular corps, and visitors from around the world. The National Park Service and the Commander Navy Region Hawaii co-organized this year’s event.
After the ceremony, guests paid honor and offered thanks to Pearl Harbor survivors present at the event. The bravery of the service members (dubbed as the “Great Generation”) more than eight decades ago continues to inspire current efforts towards peace.
