Veterans were visiting a sprawling museum thanks to the Soaring Valor Program, a project of actor Gary Sinise's charitable foundation dedicated to aiding veterans.
NEW ORLEANS — Flag-waving admirers lined the sidewalk outside the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on Wednesday to greet the oldest living survivor of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor as he marked his upcoming 105th birthday.
Eskenazi turns 105 on Jan. 30. He had boarded an Amtrak train in California on Friday for the journey to New Orleans. The other veterans, representing the Army, Navy and Marines, flew in for the event. Eskenazi was a private first class in the Army when the attack occurred. His memories include being awakened when a bomb fell — but didn't explode — near where he was sleeping at Schofield Barracks, reverberating explosions as the battleship USS Arizona was sunk by Japanese bombs, and machine gun fire from enemy planes kicking up dust around him after he volunteered to drive a bulldozer across a field so it could be used to clear runways.
He was at the Army's Schofield Barracks when the Dec. 7, 1941, attack began, bringing the United States into the war. About 2,400 servicemen were killed.
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Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthdayThe oldest living survivor of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 celebrated his upcoming 105th birthday at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans
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Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthdayThe oldest living survivor of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 celebrated his upcoming 105th birthday at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Joseph Eskenazi of Redondo Beach, California, boarded a train Friday for the journey.
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Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthdayJoseph Eskenazi was a private first class in the Army when the attack occurred.
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Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthdayHappy Birthday! Eskenazi turns 105 on Jan. 30.
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Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthdayJoseph Eskenazi was a private first class in the Army when the attack occurred.
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Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthdayJoseph Eskenazi was a private first class in the Army when the attack occurred.
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