MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAI’I – Eight minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor, aircraft with the Japanese Imperial Fleet attacked Naval Air Station (NAS) Kāneʻohe Bay, now known as Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Kāneʻohe Bay, Marine Corps Base Hawai’i (MCBH).
As the 84th anniversary of the attack came around, MCBH hosted the Klipper Memorial Ceremony at the installation on Dec. 7, 2025.
The morning began with a long-standing daily tradition in the United States military known as morning colors, which was adopted by the U.S. Navy in 1843. Marines with Headquarters Battalion, MCBH, conducted morning colors while the Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Band played the national anthem. The Marines raised the U.S. flag to the top of the flag pole then lowered it to half-staff in honor of the 18 U.S. Sailors and two civilian contractors that lost their lives during the attack.
Following the ceremonial traditions and reading of the invocation, the audience was reminded of the weight of those events which occurred on Dec. 7, 1941, as a recording of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech was played for all, where he refers to the attack as “a date which will live in infamy.”
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jeremy W. Beaven, commanding officer of MCBH, gave his thanks to many special guests in attendance such as fellow and former commanders, senior Marine Corps leadership, senior Navy leadership and Deputy Consul General Haruta Hiroki.
During his remarks, Beaven referred to U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer John Finn, who, while not included in the memorial, was recognized as the 1st medal of honor recipient of World War II for defending the flight line during the Japanese aerial assault by manning a .50-caliber machine gun for more than two hours despite sustaining 21 wounds.
Beaven referred to the memorial monument that was displayed during the ceremony, which contained the names of 20 people who lost their lives. The families of Rapheal Watson, a Navy Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class, and Kamiko Ho'okano, a civilian contractor, honored and represented them during the ceremony.
Beaven reflected on the history, stating: “There is great value in us gathering in the place where the individuals on the wall behind me came together in one time, one place, for one last moment. There is meaning in us being on this hallowed ground.”
After his remarks, Beaven and U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jarrett Bibb, officer in charge of Naval Support Detachment Kaneohe Bay, and the granddaughter of Kamiko Ho'okano, laid a wreath in front of the memorial.
A moment of silence was shared during the reading of all 20 names etched in the stone followed by a 21-gun salute:
“Walter Brown — VP-12 (Patrol Squadron 12), John Buckley — VP-1, Stanley Dosisk — Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Clarence Formoe — VP-11, Rodney Foss — VP-11, Lee Fox — VP-12, Daniel Griffin — VP-12, George Ingram — VP-12, Charles Lawrence — VP-12, Milburn Manning — VP-11, Laxton Newman — VP-14, Carl Otterstetter — VP-12, Robert Porterfield — VP-12, James Robinson — VP-11, Joseph Smartt — VP-11, Robert Uhlmann — VP-12, Raphael Watson — VP-12, Luther Weaver — VP-11, Isaac Lee — Civilian Contractor, Kamiko Ho'okano — Civilian Contractor.”
It was U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Gregory Arceo’s first time observing and being part of the Klipper Memorial Ceremony as the rifle detail commander for the 21-gun salute.
“Ready, aim, fire,” he called as the seven Marines in formation lifted their M16A4 service rifles and fired a total of three volleys. This tradition originated in the 17th century and is the highest honor a nation can render, it is a ceremonial sign of utmost respect and dignity.
Areco expressed how his role in the ceremony helps bring the audience to a collective understanding of the loss that is felt, “[The 21-gun salute] is a tribute to all those who have passed. It weighs on everybody when it goes. It gives everybody the kind of time to reflect. They see it, they hear it, followed immediately by taps, it can become a little surreal.”
Taps is the final call of the day that indicates lights out and “quiet hours” on base, which plays on MCBH at 10p.m. This bugle call is sounded at funerals, wreath-laying ceremonies and memorial services. In 2012 Congress recognized “taps” as the “National Song of Remembrance.”
As the ceremony came to an end and the final notes of taps played, the significance of the Klipper Memorial Ceremony settled in with those in attendance as the Marines in formation were dismissed. Each year the Klipper Memorial Ceremony brings together the local community, service members and their families to honor the 20 lives that were lost. Through the reading of names, the laying of the wreath, and the rendering of honors, MCBH ensured that the Sailors and civilians who lost their lives in the winter of 1941 remain remembered … they gave their today for our tomorrow.