Lacrosse seniors meet Pearl Harbor survivors

Seniors from LaCrosse High School are in Hawaii this week and were slated to visit Pearl Harbor to see the wreckage of the attack which brought the United States into World War II.

Teacher Don Kemper is leading the students on their trip.

“It’s tough duty, but somebody’s got to do it,” said Kemper.

Before leaving, he took the students to Spokane to meet with members of the Lilac Chapter of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Kemper organized the visit in order to give his students first hand accounts of the attack. The students met with eight veterans of the Japanese raid.

“It was interesting for the kids to sit and listen to them,” said Kemper. “That gives them way more than any text book could tell them.”

Kemper said the visit will be important to students as they view the Pearl Harbor memorial.

LaCrosse seniors have been taking senior class trips to Hawaii for the past nine years. They begin raising funds for the trip as freshmen, working concessions at athletic events and hosting dinner feeds at basketball games.

Less than 3,000 survivors are now registered with the national Pearl Harbor Association.