The Greater Dallas Veterans Council honored three Pearl Harbor survivors Monday on the 74th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.
For William Hughes, John Lowe and Robert Tanner, Dec. 7, 1941, is forever with them.
Hughes, now 94 years old, is a retired Navy master chief petty officer who was on board the USS Utah that fateful morning.
"I was asleep in my bunk," said Hughes. "We were at peace. I had nothing to worry about right, and at 7:55 a.m. I heard a tremendous crash and a jolting of the ship."
Hughes said he thought the Utah had been rammed by another ship, but 30 seconds later he felt another crash.
"The two torpedoes, they had left two holes under the water line on that ship that you could have driven a Mack Truck through," said Hughes. "And the water rushed in so fast."
Lowe, 95, a retired Navy chief petty officer, was born and raised in Dallas and recalls eating an orange and throwing the peels over the side of his ship right before being attacked.
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"And they hit me and I got shot," said Lowe. "It went right through, right along and came out my back."
But in true American spirit, four months after being shot, Lowe didn't back down out of fear.
"I just went back on duty doing what they had for me to do," said Lowe. "I stayed in the Navy. I never missed a day of it. I was in that war when it started, and I was in it when it wound up."
Tanner, a retired Navy warrant officer, was also recognized for his service Monday.
After the ceremony, people lined up to shake hands, thank and take photos with the survivors. Each of the men said it is truly special when people honor those who served this country.
