CHARLESTON, W.Va. — World War II veteran Harold Craigo was a teenager and delivering newspapers on Dec. 7, 1941, when he heard about what had happened at Pearl Harbor.
“I was in junior high school and I thought our country was invincible. It was disappointing. It was just a bad feeling. I was thinking of I was going to grow up into,” Craigo, of Dunbar, said.
Craigo’s speech at the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Ceremony at the state War Memorial at the state capitol Wednesday focused on America’s response to “that day that will live in infamy.”
“Our country survived that and other problems throughout the time. I just thank God that we live in the greatest in the world,” Craigo, now in his 90’s, said.
The surprise attack that wiped out most of the U.S. Pacific Fleet propelled America into World War II. Craigo would later serve in Saipan and Guam as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army.
There are fewer than 20 Pearl Harbor survivors living in West Virginia today, according to a proclamation read on behalf of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin at Wednesday’s ceremony.
The ceremony included a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
There were similar ceremonies across the state including one at the mast of the USS West Virginia on the WVU campus in Morgantown.