Observing Pearl Harbor day every Dec. 7 is extra special for Jim Armstrong of Pacific Beach, who honors his late mother and father’s service on that fateful day in Hawaii in 1941.

Armstrong, 71, who lives at Oakmont of Pacific Beach at 955 Grand Ave., can recount every story he was told of the war by his parents. He is a passionate supporter of veterans and a member of the Sons and Daughters Pearl Harbor Survivors Inc., an organization of descendants of military personnel who were stationed at Pearl Harbor and other military installations on the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on the day of the attack.

In addition to direct descendants, Pearl Harbor Survivors Inc. members include associates who promote the group’s mission to “never forget the sacrifices made in defending America and preserving its freedom and democracy.” The group has over 4,000 members in all 50 states as well as foreign countries and some are currently serving in the military.

Armstrong’s patriotism stems from the stories his father and mother told him growing up about their service and contributions throughout WWII. He has spent the last decade returning lost belongings of Japanese soldiers passed down from his father to their families.

“My dad brought back (deceased Japanese) flight crew’s dog tags, which were made of bamboo since they were short on metal, and my family had those,” said Armstrong. He added, “At the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I contacted the council general of Japan, the San Diego Union, the L.A. Times, and Stars & Stripes, and we were able to return those to living members of the Japanese pilots or their flight crews.”

Noting his father was a first lieutenant in what was then the Army Air Corps and his mother was a Red Cross nurse who was already married at the time of the sneak attack, Armstrong related how his dad just missed being a casualty during the bombing.

“My father told mom to get under the bed, and he jumped in his ‘39 Ford and took off for the airfield,” Armstrong said. “A guy pulled out in front him and my dad slammed his brakes on and a 250-pound bomb hit the car in front of him, which was meant for him, and blew a 20-foot crater killing the gentleman in the car in front of him.”

After Pearl Harbor, Armstrong said his dad was involved in the Manhattan Project, a top-secret World War II government program to develop the first atomic bombs. “He worked closely with Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay, who was the one responsible for all the major bombings of Japan toward the end of the war,” Armstrong said.

He added: “My dad turned down a promotion to become a general and worked for NASA. His group designed all the small rocket engines for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo including the rocket engine that lifted Neil Armstrong, a distant relative, off the moon.”

Armstrong has a family history wall with framed photos, documents, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia proudly displayed in his home during and after WWII.

Armstrong said his family after his brother was killed in war and his dad went to work in the U.S. space industry, discouraged him from joining the military. He took their advice and went on to work for the world’s largest architectural firm for hotels and resorts, HBA International, doing their marketing.

Prompted by his parents’ wartime experience at Pearl Harbor, Armstrong said they instilled in him the belief “that it could happen again. When 9/11 happened, my mother called me and said, ‘You now know how we felt on Dec. 7. It was like getting punched in the gut.’”

Pearl Harbor Day Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before 8 a.m. It led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the Allies.

Starting at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian time, the base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft (including fighters, level and dive bombers, and torpedo bombers) in two waves launched from six aircraft carriers. Of the eight United States Navy battleships present, all were damaged and four were sunk. All but USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. More than 180 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.

A total of 2,393 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. It was the deadliest foreign attack against the United States in its history until the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001. Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire later on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, but the declarations were not delivered until the following day Dec. 8.