The Eye is frequently reminded of the frailty of human life and the inhumanity we too often see. Hence the Eye keeps track of things which must never be forgotten.

Today is the 67th anniversary of the infamy of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged – 3 irreparably so. 2,350 died including 68 civilians. A further 1,178 were wounded. 1,177 of the dead were from the USS Arizona alone.

Yesterday the New York Times published an article about the (in)famous “winds execute” message and how much the United States knew or didn’t know in advance. The article effectively debunks the conspiracy theory and it’s well worth a look.

However I drew great heart from this story in the Kansas City Star about a 13 year old lad:

Two years ago, a waning fraternity of local men who had survived the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor thought their 65th anniversary reunion would be the last.

“We are all getting old now,” Jack Carson of Overland Park told The Kansas City Star at the time, “and it’s almost too much to get anything done.”

A boy named Quinn changed that.

Today, Kansas City Metro Chapter III of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association — now fewer than a half-dozen veterans — will gather again for the 67th anniversary at a Mission community center.

The task of organizing and promoting the reunion was seized by 13-year-old Quinn Appletoft, a World War II buff who happened upon the group about eight years ago. Last year, he served as master of ceremonies.

Recently, he distributed fliers at two Shawnee Mission schools. His fliers read: “We will remember this day with survivors. … You can hear their stories of this tragic day and look at artifacts.”

Refreshments provided. Quinn hopes maybe 10 kids will come.

“When you have these guys together, what’s cool is they tell their own stories. I think that’s way better than reading out of a textbook,” he said.

Across the nation, aging Pearl Harbor veterans groups have begun to fold their collective tents: A Massachusetts chapter of seven active members held its final meeting in June. In Nevada, the Silver State Chapter No. 1 of the survivors association intends to surrender its charter today.

But the Kansas City chapter has been revved up by the kid from Mission and by his classmates.

The story is about three times the length but I’m not going to reproduce it all – follow the link for more.

Okay, rather precocious efforts for a 13-year old who ‘stumbled upon’ this group when he was 5 and is doubtless going to get voted “Student Most Likely Too…” in the yearbook for one of the weirder categories, but his heart seems to be in the right place.

And he’ll probably be President of the US before he’s old enough to grow a proper beard. Be afraid.

And never forget.