Pearl Harbor Day, December 7

Dwight Stevens

By Doug Cerretti

Eighty-one years ago on December 7, 1941, future B-17 pilot and West Seattle High School senior Dwight Stevens* spied his future wife and future Boeing employee, sophomore Helen Braas* from a distance.

Helen Braas

He was surprised to see her this Sunday morning, as they had no plans to meet. 

She of course told him what she just heard on the radio, the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Dwight said in an understatement, “I think our lives are really going to change.”

Ralph Henry Keil

Eighty-one years ago Seaman 1st Class Ralph Henry Keil, cousin of Shoreline resident Kathie Keil Crozier, was probably getting ready to go to breakfast aboard the USS Oklahoma when disaster struck at 7:50am. 

The attack at Pearl Harbor sank the USS Oklahoma with the loss of 429 Oklahoma sailors including Ralph Henry Keil. 

Keil’s remains were not identified until 2019.

There is a memorial brick for him in the Shoreline Veterans Recognition Plaza adjacent to the Council Chambers at Shoreline City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave N.

On December 7, 2022, take time to think about those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

*Dwight and Helen Stevens were long time residents of the Echo Lake Neighborhood in Shoreline.