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Gulf Coast Life

75 Years Later: Pearl Harbor Survivors, WW2 Veterans Reflect on 'Day of Infamy'

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From left: Pearl Harbor survivors Don Thomas and John Gideon, and World War II veterans Vernon Sigo and Joseph Funigiello, now call Southwest Florida home. They shared their memories with WGCU on the 75th anniversary of the attacks.
Photo: Michael Hirsh, WGCU

Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of an event that changed history: the attack on Pearl Harbor.

They now call Southwest Florida home, but on Dec. 7, 1941, two men who shared their stories with WGCU were just teenagers when they survived the attack on the Hawaiian naval base. Others were teenagers who would go on to fight, in Europe and the Pacific, as the United States entered the Second World War.

Tuesday at 1 p.m., hear their stories on Gulf Coast Live, and explore Florida's unique connections to the war effort with historian Dr. Lois Bolin.

Matthew Smith is a reporter and producer of WGCU’s Gulf Coast Live.