Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Fewer and fewer members of the Greatest Generation are around, but that did not hinder the Springfield Elks‘ annual Pearl Harbor remembrance Sunday.

“Rather than knock us down,” Ald. Jeff Cox said of the Japanese, “they didn’t just ignite a spark, but they ignited a fire of pride and courage and innovation that still carries with us today. We haven’t seen that kind of unity until seventy years later, on 9/11.”

Army and Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs retiree Gwen Diehl-Reed said her father-in-law felt lifelong guilt over not being present at Pearl Harbor after serving as an aircraft carrier communications officer.

“He was just getting off duty in the radio shack when the message came across the wires: This is not a drill. He and the others listened to the radio teletype traffic: the battle damage assessments, the casualty numbers, the horror of it all.”

The tossing of a wreath into Lake Springfield was the customary conclusion of the ceremonies.