Pearl Harbor Remembrance planned for December 7

“War began today. Japanese Dive Bombers are bombing us,” Pearl Harbor Survivor Bill Kennedy wrote in his diary.  Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and six other military bases on the Hawaiian island of Oahu precipitated America’s entry into World War II, a global conflict. 

Pearl Harbor endures as a symbol of American resilience and resolve, and the annual remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor fosters reflection, remembrance, and understanding. 

Last month, the Tioga County Legislative Chair, Martha Sauerbrey, proclaimed Decemter 7 as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Within the proclamation, they wrote, “Today we pause in commemoration of those who fought and died on December 7, 1941, especially remembering Seaman Delmar Dale Sibley of Owego, who is still aboard the USS Arizona, and we honor their bravery and final sacrifice.”

The 80th anniversary of the attack is an opportunity to honor the sacrifice and dedication of our Greatest Generation, both military and civilian, that endured incredible sacrifices on Dec. 7, 1941, the “date that will live in infamy.”

It would thrust America into World War II, changing Hawaii and America forever, and continues to define their place in the world. The events of that date triggered our resolve as a nation, our can-do attitude and resourcefulness and unmatched commitment to the defense of freedom. 

Understanding past events and their consequences can inspire reverence for an emotional commitment to peaceful solutions to conflict. How do we help future generations chart their way toward peace and prosperity? We can learn from the past. 

A key focus of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor will be a brighter future in our relationship with Japan, and the celebrating of 75 years of peace between us. 

In Owego, the American flags at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial are flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset to honor those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Two waves of bombers, torpedoes and strafing from 353 Japanese aircraft on that early Sunday morning killed 2,403 Americans. 

The late Pearl Harbor Survivor Bill Kennedy of Owego wrote in his diary, as a 20-year-old Army Air Force Private First Class, “War began today. Japanese dive-bombers are bombing us. It’s a terrible helpless feeling to be lying behind or under some flimsy shelter and bomb splinters or machine gun bullets and debris are flying around like hell.” 

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day will return to the Delmar Dale Sibley Memorial Dining Room at the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars for the 12:55 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, commemoration – the exact time as the attack. 

The Pearl Harbor VFW dedication ceremony held in 2007 remembered Owego and Tioga County’s first WWII casualty, Delmar Dale Sibley. And although the September 2011 flooding severely damaged the dining area where Sibley’s wall portrait found floating in floodwater, his shadow box of medals has since been restored. 

To hear Pearl Harbor memories, WWII veterans requested an inside warm environment and comfortable chairs. They say they are getting older. It is too hard for them to stand outside in the December cold.  

VFW Post 1371 Commander Julie Dodge, a U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard veteran, invites families of the four deceased Tioga County Pearl Harbor Survivors, all era Gold Star families, all era veterans, especially WWII, U.S. Navy personnel at Lockheed Martin-Owego, and anyone who recalls Dec. 7 to attend and bring photos, documents, and personal reminiscences to share. 

Twenty-three-year-old Navy seaman Sibley was aboard the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. After a bomb detonated in a powder magazine, the battleship exploded violently and sank, with the loss of 1,117 officers and crewmen. 

Unlike many of the other ships sunk or damaged that day, the force of the magazine explosion irreparably damaged the Arizona. The wreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, dedicated on May 30, 1962 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, straddles the ship’s hull. 

Four Tioga County servicemen, now deceased, survived the attack. Marine Lester Dunham of Owego was on guard duty patrolling the docks at Pearl Harbor. Later the combat Marine fought gallantly in the Guadalcanal campaign. He escaped from a foxhole just before it blew up. 

Army Sergeant Donald Stocks of Owego was at Hickam Field. He was a cook. He left his kitchen and grabbed a rifle to fight.

Army Sergeant Richard Hopkins of Berkshire enlisted on April 2, 1941, and arrived in Honolulu on June 17, 1940. He was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks at the time of the attack. 

He remembers the planes coming in and bombs dropping. It is something you do not forget. He recalls looking out of his barracks. 

“They were hauling wounded on cars and trucks, anything they could get them on to rush them to the hospital.” 

Hopkins also spent 21 days on the front lines at Guadalcanal against the Japanese who “would not surrender.” Hopkins received the Bronze Star Medal for that meritorious service. 

On Dec. 7, 1941, “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt asks for Declaration of War. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, stunned virtually everyone in the United States military. Japan’s carrier-launched bombers found Pearl Harbor totally unprepared. 

The ceremony on Tuesday begins at 12:55 p.m. with Bugler Steve Palinosky leading things with the National Anthem, and St. Patrick’s / Blessed Trinity Deacon Michael Donovan will offer the invocation and closing prayer. Families of the Pearl Harbor Survivors will share precious moments told to them by those who were there. 

Gordon Ichikawa will share the story of his mother Kiyo, who spent three years in a Japanese – American concentration facility in Oregon during the duration of the war. He’ll proudly talk about his father, Past Owego VFW Commander Tom Ichikawa, who enlisted on Dec. 7, 1941, and was wounded in WWII in the European Theatre.  

Martin Wilcox of the Tioga County Historical Society will tell the story of Aaron Putman Storrs III of Owego, who led a squadron of 17 PBY’s (flying boats) to Pearl Harbor. Also at Pearl Harbor, the USS Tracy is named after Owego resident Benjamin Tracy, Secretary of the Navy under President Benjamin Harrison.  

Eighty years ago everything changed for the United States. It was a day that our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles would never forget, a day that would live in infamy forever – Dec. 7, 1941.