On December 7, 1941, 2,403 Americans died when hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.

Frank Curre, who enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old, was a cook aboard the USS Tennessee, and at StoryCorps he shared his memories of that day.

Frank died on December 7, 2011, the 70^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was 88 years old.

Frank’s story is one in a series of real-life stories presented by StoryCorps and Upworthy reminding us #WhoWeAre—everyday Americans speaking to our best selves.

Click here to listen to Frank’s original StoryCorps interview.

StoryCorps and Upworthy, the mission-driven media company that reaches more than 200 million people each month, have joined forces to launch #WhoWeAre, a campaign to share the stories of everyday Americans, build compassion, and offer hope to a divided nation. #WhoWeAre calls on Americans to reach across perceived divides and listen to one another.

Click here to learn more about the campaign.