When Japanese bombs fell on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, David Russell was there. He was a U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class on the USS Oklahoma. This year is the 80th anniversary of that World War II attack. Mr. Russell is now 101 years old. He and about 30 other survivors are returning to Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, for a remembrance ceremony.

The survivors and 100 other veterans will take a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m. That’s the minute the surprise attack began.

When the attack started, Mr. Russell first went below deck. But a split-second decision likely saved his life. “They started closing that hatch. And I decided to get out of there,” Mr. Russell says.

Mr. Russell headed to the deck of the ship. He was trained to load anti-aircraft guns. He figured he could help if any other loader got hurt.

But Japanese planes dropped underwater missiles. They hit Oklahoma. Within 12 minutes, the battleship sank.

Once he got to the main deck, Mr. Russell jumped to the USS Maryland. He didn’t want to swim. Leaked oil was burning in the water below. He helped pass ammunition to Maryland’s guns.

Altogether 429 sailors and Marines from Oklahoma would die. That’s the greatest death toll from any ship that day other than the USS Arizona. That ship lost 1,177 people.

For decades, Russell didn’t share much about his experiences in World War II. No one seemed to care. But memories from Pearl Harbor still haunt him. Pray for those who have experienced war. Psalm 147:3 tells us that God “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Now people want to know more about the war. So Mr. Russell and other veterans are trying to talk more about their stories. “You can’t forget it,” he says.