NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN: Every Dec. 7,...

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN: Every Dec. 7, the daily memories of Pearl Harbor become even more vivid for Harold Epler of Orange, as he thinks about the thousands who died around him 53 years ago. . . . Epler will be among the Pearl Harbor Survivors Assn. members at El Toro Memorial Park for special ceremonies today at 11 a.m. It’s an observance he’s never missed in those 53 years. . . . “Most of us who survived remember every detail of that day,” says Epler. “And all of us knew someone who didn’t make it.”

INCHING TO THE TOP: Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) was ecstatic for his party about the November election results. He was even happier Tuesday: He was easily elected chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, which develops legislative packages. It makes Cox the House’s fifth-highest-ranking Republican, and the highest-ranking Californian. . . . Lofty goals? Says Cox: “Our goal will be no less than to change the world.”

GETTING RESULTS: A new local United Way’s Health Care Council report shows great improvement in prenatal care here. “That’s because of Chauncey Alexander,” says council director Stephanie McElheney. . . . Council founder Alexander, now 77 and retired, was the first to recognize in 1987 a major health care crisis among the county’s poor, particularly in prenatal care. . . . Today, the health council says thanks, honoring Alexander at its first annual awards luncheon, at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers.

FOUR LIVES? Despite the TV stereotype, firefighters have a policy against going after cats stranded in trees--it’s simply too dangerous. In Santa Ana though, they recently made an exception. A blue-eyed Siamese had been stranded up a tree for four days before a frantic neighbor asked for help. . . . Fire Chief Allen (Bud) Carter said that in his 30-year career, it was the darnedest call he’d ever gotten. . . . All is well, the cat is safe, and the City Council this week commended the Fire Department.

WEATHER: Partly cloudy with highs in the 60s, lows in the 50s. (B8)

* The Top of Today’s News is on A2