After attending author Craig Nelson’s recent talk to the Channel City Club about his book, Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness, Anacapa School students wrote about what was most memorable to them about Nelson’s presentation. They heard tales from Nelson’s newly researched account of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. .

Here are some comments from the students:

“Mr. Nelson related his talk to all of us here in California by telling us a heartbreaking story about some unfortunate California servicemen, who had been assigned to Pearl Harbor for one year.

“They were set to leave for California on Dec. 8, so they took two small planes out to do one last aerial tour of the Island before their departure. They were the first ones the Japanese encountered and shot down on their way to bomb Pearl Harbor, and they were the first Americans to die at their hands.” — Briza Espinoza

“In his presentation, Mr. Nelson told us about one of the Japanese pilots who attacked Pearl Harbor and how — many years later — he managed to get other Japanese pilots to sign a letter of apology to the United States.

“When he tried to personally give the apology to American survivors of the attack, it was not accepted. Eventually, after several attempts, the apology was accepted, and the former enemies even played American and Japanese taps together at a special ceremony.” — Alexander Dalbadie

“One notable person mentioned by Mr. Nelson was Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy who was involved prior to the Pearl Harbor attack. He was sent undercover to Hawaii as a Japanese vice-consul named Tadashi Morimura. He arrived on March 27, 1941.

“He rented a second-story apartment that overlooked Pearl Harbor and would often wander around the island of Oahu, taking notes on American fleet movements and security measures.

“He pretended to be a tourist and rented small planes and flew around the islands, observing U.S. installations as well as diving in the harbor using a hollow reed as a breathing device. He became an expert on the U.S. Navy.” — Charley Knowles

“Craig Nelson shared with his audience an intriguing advertisement that was released around two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The advertisement was trying to sell a board game called “The Deadly Double,” which was meant to be played in an air-raid shelter.

“The ad for this game showed a pair of dice, one with the number 12 on its face and the other with the number seven. The source of this ad remains one of World War II’s mysteries to this day.” — Athena Masthoff

“A notable account shared by Craig Nelson was that of Dorie Miller, a third-class messman aboard a Navy battleship. Despite being untrained, he took charge of a Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun and shot down enemy Japanese aircraft.

“Dorie Miller went on to be the first African-American to earn a Navy Cross, making him an icon who was used to promote black support of the war effort.” — Piero Trujillo

“Craig Nelson discussed the severity of the amount of veterans who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) triggered by their involvement in the Pearl Harbor attack. He told the story of Sterling Cale who survived burning waters on Dec. 7, and then, in the days ensuing, pulled corpses and remains out of the water.

“About five years later, he was back at a beach near Pearl Harbor with his family and a rogue wave swept his son away. He had such psychological damage from his work after the Pearl Harbor attack that he was paralyzed from entering the water to rescue his child.

“The veteran’s canine noticed the struggling little boy in the ocean and ran into the water to save him. From that day on, Sterling Cale never stepped foot on the beach again.”  — Morgan Lamberti

“Craig Nelson ended his lecture by telling us why he finds Pearl Harbor so interesting. He believes it changed the United States into the country we know today. At the beginning of his talk he informed us that before World War II the United States of America had the 14th largest military in the world behind Sweden.

“After the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States would become a world superpower with nuclear weapons.” — Elena Alcerro

— Morgan Flint for Anacapa School.