Eye Of Diablo Beacon To Be Relit On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

CONCORD, CA—Mount Diablo's Summit Beacon, the Eye of Diablo, will be relit Dec. 7 by a survivor of Pearl Harbor with the support of a team from Save Mount Diablo, the nonprofit that restored and has maintained and operated the beacon for many years.

Originally installed and illuminated in 1928 to aid transcontinental aviation, the Beacon's light was extinguished in response to the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor as part of the West Coast blackout for fear it could enable an attack on California.

It stayed dark until Pearl Harbor Day in 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II, relit the Beacon in a commemorative ceremony and suggested it be illuminated every Dec. 7 to honor those who served and sacrificed. Since that day, Pearl Harbor veterans and their families have gathered every Dec. 7 to see the Beacon light shine again.

The Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 5, are pleased to co-sponsor this 61st annual National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Beacon lighting ceremony with Save Mount Diablo; California State Parks; and California State University, East Bay.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which begins at 3:45 p.m., following a viewing of the USS Arizona exhibit in the Oak Room from 3 to 3:45 p.m.

As part of the ceremony, Pearl Harbor survivor Earl "Chuck" Kohler, who celebrated his 100th birthday this year, is expected to speak about his experiences on Dec. 7, 1941.

The Beacon will be lit at 5 p.m. after "Taps" is performed and will stay lit all night, as it does annually on this date. The Pearl Harbor survivors know the Beacon will continue shining long after they are gone.

Since 2022, it is also lit on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

On Sunday, April 11, 2021, Save Mount Diablo concluded a year of lighting the Beacon weekly to bring light and hope to the region during the worst of the pandemic.