WWII veterans’ interviews woven into ESPN2’s Pro Bowl Draft 2016 special

Tonight’s Pro Bowl Draft special (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) will originate from Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii. The two-hour show – featuring ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew, NFL Legends captains Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice, and the top players from across the National Football League – will determine the non-conferenced teams that will play in Sunday’s Pro Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN).

In addition to plenty of great football conversation, the show will include special features that appropriately honor the historical events that took place on the Island of Oahu almost 75 years ago.

An ESPN post producer on the MNF team, Aimee Stokes has led the charge on the Pro Bowl Draft features, which highlight three veterans – Al Rodrigues, John Seelie and Herb Weatherwax – as well as the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri. Stokes chronicles her work over the past week in Hawaii, previewing the pieces she and Bristol staff editor Tom Beers have prepared for tonight’s Draft show.

John Seelie Feature

Stokes: “The ‘Last Man Standing’ from the 25th Infantry Division, 65th Combat Engineers is 93-year-old John Seelie. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was 18 years old and stationed at Schofield Barracks assigned to defend Wheeler Army Air Field. Guarding hangar No. 1 when the Japanese attacked, John has vivid memories of that day and the rest of his service. He went on to fight on Guadalcanal and New Georgia.”

Aimee Stokes interviews John Seelie about his memories of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

USS Missouri

Stokes: “The “Mighty Mo” was involved in the World War II battles of Iwo Jima & Okinawa. On the deck of the battleship is where the ceremony of the Japanese surrender took place on Sept. 2, 1945.”

Herb Weatherwax (left) and Al Rodrigues (right)

Herb Weatherwax (Aimee Stokes/ESPN)

Al Rodrigues (Aimee Stokes/ESPN)

Stokes: “Native Hawaiian Herb Weatherwax (L) was a 24-year-old Army private living in Honolulu when he heard loud explosions the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. He saw the USS Arizona enveloped in flames and the USS Oklahoma turned on its side as he headed to his post. Weatherwax, 98, and Navy veteran Al Rodrigues, 95, (R) tell their stories of witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor. They are both lovely, funny and very sharp.”