Pearl Harbor Attack Survivor Shares Story; U.S. Military, Defense Department Evolved After Pearl Harbor
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You're looking at like pictures from Joint Base Pearl Harbor, where 75 years ago, today, Japanese attack planes dropped bombs over parts of Hawaii, propelling the United States to enter World War II. The U.S. Navy and National Park Service are hosting a memorial ceremony right now. Live pictures coming in. And we're watching two other major events commemorating Pearl Harbor. The Vice President-elect Mike Pence visiting the World War II Memorial here in Washington, D.C. And at Texas A&M University, former President George H.W. Bush and former Senator Bob Dole, remembered for their service during World War II as well. While these ceremonies honor the veterans at Pearl Harbor during that fateful day, one survivor never felt like a hero. He tells CNN's Kyung Lah why, this year, he is going back to Pearl Harbor for the very first time.</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ask B.C. Wilborn the secret to living to age 95 in good health, he'll say love of a vibrant hobby, like horse racing, and a lot of experience in surviving. (on camera): Do you think, I'm a war hero?</s>B.C. WILBORN, WORLD WAR II VETERAN & FORMER NAVY FIRST CLASS PETTY OFFICER: Oh, no, no. Gosh. Just the opposite. You think what you could have done, and didn't do.</s>ANNOUNCER: The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor.</s>LAH (voice-over): 75 years ago, Wilborn stood aboard the "USS Maryland" as the Japanese launched an early morning attack on Pearl Harbor. Wilborn just a 20-year-old first class petty officer in the Navy. (on camera): What did it feel like to be in the middle of that?</s>WILBORN: I didn't have no fear. I see everything happening, and it just seemed like -- unreal.</s>LAH: Daughter, Edie, and her husband, Ron.</s>EDIE STANTON, DAUGHTER OF B.C. WILSON: They pay a big price for us to be free.</s>LAH: How old are you here?</s>WILBORN: I was 24, 25.</s>LAH: They had pictures and saw their father's purple heart but he never talked about World War II, until, for reasons no one can explain, a few years ago - (on camera): Just started talking?</s>RON STANTON, SON-IN-LAW OF B.C. WILBORN: Just started talking. Sad to say, I didn't have a tape recorder to get it.</s>LAH (voice-over): And he hasn't stopped talking, Wilborn sharing horrors, the men he couldn't save aboard the capsized "USS Oklahoma."</s>WILBORN: You hear them tapping on the wall and wonder, I guess thinking they're going to get rescued. After about two days, maybe, on the third day, stopped. No more.</s>LAH: More than 400 men died on "The Oklahoma." (on camera): 75 years later, you can still recall that sound?</s>WILBORN: Oh, gosh, yes. And I thought it was about the sad evidence thing I saw in the Navy. I was -- I don't know. Seemed so helpless.</s>LAH: Unlike many survivors, Wilborn never went back to Pearl Harbor. That's changing this year. 75 years later, he's returning for the first time since that day of infamy. (on camera): What changed? Why did you start thinking about it?</s>WILBORN: It's a sad day, and -- I don't know. You try to get it out of your mind and then, it don't go.</s>LAH (voice-over): So the survivor faces one last battle of his own memories. Kyung Lah, CNN, Collinsville, Illinois.</s>BLITZER: Defense Secretary Ash Carter, he's in Japan today, pledging America's commitment to its alliance with Japan and praising the security relationship the two countries share. Let's talk a little more how the Defense Department and U.S. military have evolved since Pearl Harbor, 75 years ago, today. Let's bring in CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel, Cedric Leighton. Colonel, thanks very much for joining us.</s>CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: My pleasure, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Your dad served in the U.S. Army in World War II. I was a former Pentagon correspondent. Is it -- it's not unusual that a lot of those veterans, for years and years, they never wanted to talk about what they went through during World War</s>II. LEIGHTON: Absolutely true, and I think it's particularly true with people who actually saw close combat. My dad did not see close combat but served in the intelligence side of the army and he worked a lot of the code-breaking issues that became really famous in later years. First of all, he couldn't really talk about that in the close proximity to World War II because of the classification, but then he was able to talk more about it, and it was very clear that that had a decisive impact on the war.</s>BLITZER: I can only imagine how emotional this trip to Pearl Harbor for this 95-year-old veteran is going to be. Let's talk about the lessons of Pearl Harbor, lessons that are important today. We often hear military analysts say it's important to prevent another Pearl Harbor. In today's worldwide, what does that mean?</s>LEIGHTON: Pervaded the language quite a bit. You're trying to prevent a surprise attack. You want to be prepared. It's all a readiness. And if something bad happens, you want the resilience necessary to overcome that particular surprise attack. So, if there is an action, like a Pearl Harbor or a 9/11 attack, you want to be able to make sure that you have the resources and the military capability that can actually prevent or actually practice retribution against an attack of that type.</s>BLITZER: Because Pearl Harbor was clearly an intelligence failure?</s>LEIGHTON: Absolutely. The real shame of Pearl Harbor, Wolf, was the fact that you had a situation where there was information available, that there was some type of Japanese attack being planned, but the precise nature of the attack wasn't known, the precise manner, timing of the attack, that also wasn't known, and that was a significant failure. And also, the fact they didn't fuse intelligence with operational information, such as the radar picture, and that prevented a great deal of activity as well, and really caused the surprise to be a complete surprise.</s>BLITZER: The former defense secretary, Leon Panetta, speaks of a cyber Pearl Harbor threat to the United States right now. And that is enormous, that cyber warfare potential attack.</s>LEIGHTON: Absolutely. Because, unlike a kinetic attack, like Pearl Harbor was, really what 9/11 was, a cyber Pearl Harbor would be an attack that would be a stealth attack until it's too late, and what they're really worried about, people like Leon Panetta, are worried about is an attack on the infrastructure, the power grid, hospitals, things that make daily life possible today in our society. If an attack like that were to happen, it would have significant social disruption for this country.</s>BLITZER: The U.S. military works around the clock to prevent precisely that. That's what keeps them up at night. Thanks so much. Cedric, thanks for joining us.</s>LEIGHTON: You bet, Wolf. My pleasure.</s>BLITZER: Senator John McCain, himself a Vietnam War veteran, is speaking at the World War II Memorial right now commemorating the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor himself. A very, very emotional day for so many people. Coming up, President Obama opens up to CNN about a threat to the country that took him by surprise, and why it wasn't on his intelligence radar. His candid interview, that's coming up next.