The 71st anniversary commemoration is open to the public.
Laedtke was a pharmacist’s mate/medical records technician on a hospital ship, the USS Solace, in 1941. After Japanese warplanes and submarines attacked the American military base, he headed for his post.
The hospital ship was not attacked. But as Laedtke climbed an outside ladder to his post, “I could see Battleship Row,” he said.
“Battleships were taking bomb hits. A bomb hit the Arizona, and all hell broke loose,” the 92-year-old veteran said. “I knew there had to be a tremendous number of casualties.”
His immediate job was to help clear space for battle casualties. Later that afternoon, Laedtke was assigned to the morgue, where he prepared death certificates.
The attack killed 2,390 Americans, including 1,177 sailors and Marines who died on the USS Arizona.
There are about a dozen local veterans who were stationed in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. With their numbers dwindling, both local and national Pearl Harbor Survivors organizations have disbanded.
The local survivors’ association has handed off its assets and records to the Pacific Northwest Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, a nonprofit group that will continue to hold Vancouver’s annual Dec. 7 commemorations.
This morning’s event will include a floral tribute that will be cast into the Columbia River. There be a display of mementos and artifacts, as well as a parking lot exhibit of vintage military vehicles.
Tom Vogt: 360-735-4558; http://www.twitter.com/col_history; tom.vogt@columbian.com.
