JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted out a tribute to those who served at Pearl Harbor, including his grandfather, Tuesday morning on the 80th anniversary of the attack.
Curry said his grandfather, Leonard L. Curry, served in the United States Navy on the USS Oklahoma at the time of the attack. He said his grandfather survived the attack by swimming under the flames to shore.
"It's just admiration for what they went through and then they had to come home and live normal lives and raise families and they saw so much and went through so much, but yet they came home, assimilated back into society and did everything they could to raise normal families and I don’t think we’ll ever truly understand what they went through," Curry said.
Curry said it's an honor to have that history and service in his family.
"It was on my mind first thing this morning, you know, I’m up in the morning doing stuff," Curry said. "I’ve got kids at home who have to get to school and I wanted to make sure I got that message out first thing this morning because it is an important day in our history and I have family members who were a part of it."
Curry's other grandfather was an Army Ranger and served in other parts of the world.