The Tioga County Legislature recently proclaimed Dec. 7, 2021 as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and will present a proclamation at the commemoration planned for Dec. 7, at 12:55 p.m. in the Delmar Dale Sibley Memorial Hall of the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, located on Main Street in Owego. <\/p>\n
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the military assault that took place on Dec. 7, 1941 at the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This assault claimed the lives of over 2,400 soldiers and citizens, caused injury to over 1,000 additional people, and resulted in the destruction of 20 American naval vessels including eight battleships of the U. S. Pacific Fleet and over 300 airplanes. <\/p>\n
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously proclaimed Dec. 7, 1941, as a “date which will live in infamy,” and it has stood as a solemn day of tribute ever since. <\/p>\n
One day later, on Dec. 8, 1941, President Roosevelt requested of Congress the power and authority to declare war on Japan, and the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States of America was officially thrust into World War II. <\/p>\n
Reflecting on the loss of human life and the ruination of the Pearl Harbor Base, that day serves as a stark reminder of the exceptional service and selfless sacrifice of our armed servicemen and women, who risked their lives and personal safety to shield our nation from harm, and preserve our nation’s founding values and liberties. <\/p>\n
In a press release announcing the proclamation, officials wrote, \u201cToday 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sibley was killed when a Japanese bomber dropped an armor-piercing shell atop the forward ammunition magazine, and within seconds the USS Arizona was torn in half. Seaman Sibley is memorialized at Honolulu Memorial Cemetery of the Missing.<\/p>\n
The release continued, \u201cFour from Tioga County survived including Army Air Corps Private First Class Army Mechanic Bill Kennedy of Owego, who passed away at age 96 on Feb. 26, 2018 along with deceased survivor and U.S. Marine Machine Gun Crewman Lester Dunham of Owego, Army Sergeant Donald Stocks of Owego, and Army Sergeant Richard Hopkins of Berkshire, who later became a recipient of the Bronze Star for meritorious service on the front lines of Guadalcanal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy was at Hickman Field when a flight of 50 dive-bombers and fighters struck American aircraft parked wing to wing. His Air Force squadron lost 10 men and 32 were wounded. The U.S. lost all those airplanes. He helped evacuate the wounded and dead. Kennedy went back to Pearl Harbor for a memorial reunion.<\/p>\n
Army Sergeant Richard Hopkins of Berkshire remembers planes coming in and dropping bombs at Schofield Barracks. Hopkins pulled many of his buddies out of the ocean, and said it is something you would never want to see.<\/p>\n
Marine Lester “Buster” Dunham of Owego was 200 yards away from the sinking ships. After Pearl Harbor, the combat Marine was deployed to five battles on the Islands. He escaped a foxhole just before it blew up. Later, he was in Japan with the Occupation Forces. He spent five years in the Pacific Theatre of Operation.<\/p>\n
Army Technical Sergeant Donald Stocks of Owego, who was at Hickman Field on breakfast cooking duty when the attack began, rescued many wounded and helped to get them to the hospital for medical attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are profoundly grateful for members of our nation’s military and their families, who freely risk all for the good of others,\u201d county officials wrote, adding, \u201cThe Tioga County Legislature proclaims December 7, 2021 as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and throughout Tioga County encourages all to remember the exceptional service of our nations’ Veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Jim Raftis Sr. contributed to this story.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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