A Lifetime Mission for This Pearl Harbor Survivor

At this year’s ‘National Memorial Day Concert,’ Chuck Kohler, 102, gets his biggest stage yet to be a voice for those who didn’t make it home.
A Lifetime Mission for This Pearl Harbor Survivor
Chuck Kohler on Mt. Diablo for tribute 2025. Courtesy of Capital Concerts, Inc.
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At age 17, Earl J. “Chuck” Kohler got his parent’s permission to enlist in the Navy in April 1941. Only eight months later, as a young serviceman, he would become part of history as a fighter in the Pearl Harbor attack. Every day since, Kohler, now 102 and just one of 11 survivors left, has made it his life’s work to “honor” the fallen soldiers who didn’t make it home. “I try to share my experience with anybody who would come and listen,” Kohler told The Epoch Times in a recent interview.

“I thought that way they would have a better understanding of and a deeper appreciation for what those people experienced there that morning, but sadly didn’t live to share that information with their family or loved ones or friends. Somebody had to be a voice for them. And I had tried to do that down through the years.”

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Gayle Jo Carter
Gayle Jo Carter
Author
Gayle Jo Carter, a former entertainment editor at USA WEEKEND, has interviewed high-profile newsmakers for numerous publications including USA TODAY, AARP.org, Survivornet.com, Washington Jewish Week, and Parade.