When Earl “Chuck” Kohler heard planes flying over Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, he didn’t realize anything was wrong – until shrapnel pierced the wall of his building, tearing his neck and shoulders.

Kohler, 100, recounted his experiences Saturday at a ceremony at California’s East Bay State’s Hayward campus commemorating the 83rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. As part of the annual event, the Mount Diablo Beacon was illuminated at sunset, emitting a rotating beam of light to honor the victims of the attack.

“As you watch this beacon spin, all of these victims will be communicating with you,” Kohler told the more than 100 attendees. “They will do this together, as if with one voice, and their message, their appeal will always be the same: Remember us.” Remember us.”

Kohler, who lives in nearby Clayton, is one of the last remaining survivors of Pearl Harbor – only 16 are still alive, according to the Associated Press. He was 17 years old and a first-rate sailor stationed on Ford Island when Japanese forces launched their surprise attack killed more than 2,300 US soldiers and pushed the US into entering World War II.

That morning, after recovering from his initial shock, Kohler said he ran outside and saw a bomb on the ground and a Japanese plane overhead, and realized the port was under attack. His officer told him to take cover, but Kohler said he and a group of others reached for their weapons instead.

“I come from a proud family and know full well that if I were to lose my life in this or any other battle of this war, I would want my family and my country to know that I died in battle and did not hide .” “said Kohler.

Kohler aimed a .50-caliber machine gun at the cockpit of an attacking aircraft. He fired several shots, forcing the pilot to deviate from the group of soldiers, he said. Kohler stayed with his gun for a few minutes, but the planes did not return.

Kohler said he has returned to Pearl Harbor once since that day, a visit that motivated him to find a way to honor his fallen comrades. To that end, Kohler has donated thousands of dollars to preserve and restore the Mount Diablo Beacon, which is lit three times a year – on Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor Day.

The beacon was erected on the summit of Mount Diablo in 1928 to aid aircraft navigation and is one of four guiding lights installed by Standard Oil on the West Coast. But after Pearl Harbor, the beacon’s light was turned off out of fear it would help enemy aircraft attack, according to the nonprofit Save Mount Diablo.

It remained dark for decades until Pearl Harbor Day in 1964, when veterans relit the beacon to remember the victims of the 1941 attack, beginning an annual tradition.

The beacon’s beam was lit just after 5pm on Saturday and will remain lit until dawn.

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