The USS Arizona was one of four battleships that sank during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. 
On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Ralph Laedtke was working on a medical support vessel in Pearl Harbor when the sound of nearby torpedoing rumbled through his ship.
"I scrambled up the ladder and I saw bombs and ships exploding and smoke belching into the sky," said the former pharmacist's mate third class on the USS Solace.
Laedtke, 89, of Grayslake, and eight other Chicago-area Pearl Harbor survivors met Monday at Navy Pier to mark the 68th anniversary of the attack by Japanese forces that prompted the United States to join World War II.
The commemoration, which drew more than 300 people, included a bell-ringing ceremony to honor seven Chicagoans who died on the USS Arizona, one of several ships moored at the Hawaiian port that were sunk or severely damaged in the attack. Attendees included members of the Illinois Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and their families.
"You cannot forget the sacrifice that men and women have made, not just for Pearl Harbor Day, but for this country continually," said Mayor Richard Daley, alluding to the current U.S. conflicts in the Middle East.
Ambrose Ferri, 91, a Navy petty officer third class on a repair ship attached to the Arizona, said Monday that he still feels like he cheated death that day. A friend had invited Ferri to have breakfast that morning, but he decided not to go because he wanted to sleep in. His friend died when the Japanese strafed Merry Point Landing.
In keeping with tradition, a wreath was cast off Navy Pier into Lake Michigan to honor the more than 2,400 people who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It drifted out with the tide as taps was played.
"Our ranks are thinning out; time is against us," said Jack Barry Sr., chairman of the Illinois survivors association. "There is a day when there will be none of us left, but we will be remembered."
"I scrambled up the ladder and I saw bombs and ships exploding and smoke belching into the sky," said the former pharmacist's mate third class on the USS Solace.
Laedtke, 89, of Grayslake, and eight other Chicago-area Pearl Harbor survivors met Monday at Navy Pier to mark the 68th anniversary of the attack by Japanese forces that prompted the United States to join World War II.
The commemoration, which drew more than 300 people, included a bell-ringing ceremony to honor seven Chicagoans who died on the USS Arizona, one of several ships moored at the Hawaiian port that were sunk or severely damaged in the attack. Attendees included members of the Illinois Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and their families.
"You cannot forget the sacrifice that men and women have made, not just for Pearl Harbor Day, but for this country continually," said Mayor Richard Daley, alluding to the current U.S. conflicts in the Middle East.
Ambrose Ferri, 91, a Navy petty officer third class on a repair ship attached to the Arizona, said Monday that he still feels like he cheated death that day. A friend had invited Ferri to have breakfast that morning, but he decided not to go because he wanted to sleep in. His friend died when the Japanese strafed Merry Point Landing.
In keeping with tradition, a wreath was cast off Navy Pier into Lake Michigan to honor the more than 2,400 people who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It drifted out with the tide as taps was played.
"Our ranks are thinning out; time is against us," said Jack Barry Sr., chairman of the Illinois survivors association. "There is a day when there will be none of us left, but we will be remembered."
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