Pearl Harbor Memorial Ceremony

moose135

Once again today, the American Airpower Museum on Long Island hosted the annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Ceremony. We were honored to have 5 Pearl Harbor survivors in attendance. As part of the ceremony, 68 red roses, one for each year since the attack, plus one white rose to mark the September 11 attacks, were blessed with water taken from near the USS Arizona. The roses were then flown by pilots of the Skytypers team in a vintage SNJ trainer over NY harbor, where they were dropped near the Statue of Liberty at 12:55pm, the exact time of the start of the Pearl Harbor attack. This carries on a tradition begun in 1970.



Col. Thomas Owens, commander of the 106th Air Rescue Wing on Long Island, presents a copy of a Presidential Proclamation to survivor Gerard Barbosa.


Navy Honor Guard






The names of Pearl Harbor survivors who passed since the last ceremony were read, accompanied by the tolling of a bell.


Part of the large crowd in attendance.


Survivors salute the playing of Taps.


Survivors Richard Abeles, Gerard Barbosa and Seymour Blutt.


I've spoken with Mr. Blutt and his daughter at this ceremony for the past 4 years - she keeps promising to get me her e-mail address so I can send her some photos, and today I finally had her give me an address so I can send her a CD of all the ceremonies. In talking with them today, I found out that Mr. Blutt was a veteran of the Air Corps (that may be why I was drawn to him - I'm an Air Force vet myself) and was stationed at Wheeler Field during the December 7th attack - he had a photo of himself taken next to a damaged building shortly after the attack. He is also 91 years old, and lives on his own in Manhattan. We should all be so lucky to end up like him!



It's always been a privilege to attend these ceremonies and meet these remarkable men - they were truly ordinary people forced to deal with extraordinary circumstances, and are true American heroes.

Panther

Howdy Moose,

What a wonderful Tribute you've assembled,
very touching and the attention to detail
and compassion shown in your images
left me with a lump in my throat.

I think your last statement sums it all up,
Thank you so much for sharing these with Us.

"they were truly ordinary people
forced to deal with extraordinary circumstances,
and are true American heroes."

Regardless of Political Ideals, or Beliefs,
The Men and Women that answer the Call
to Protect Us and our way of Life
can Never Be Forgotten.

Kindest Regards,

Craig

Dogdots

Panther wrote:

Howdy Moose,

What a wonderful Tribute you've assembled,
very touching and the attention to detail
and compassion shown in your images
left me with a lump in my throat.

I think your last statement sums it all up,
Thank you so much for sharing these with Us.

"they were truly ordinary people
forced to deal with extraordinary circumstances,
and are true American heroes."

Regardless of Political Ideals, or Beliefs,
The Men and Women that answer the Call
to Protect Us and our way of Life
can Never Be Forgotten.

Kindest Regards,

Craig

I can't say it any better then what Craig just said. Thank you Moose for posting these photos.

Nikonic1

I couldn't agree more with Craig and want to thank you very much for posting these photos. Also to congratulate you on a wonderful series. The American Armed Forces and the men and women who have served and are serving today are something special to say the least. I cherish those who put thier easy, straightforward life here on native soil at risk to defend the freedoms and lifestyle we're so accustomed to and take for granted each and every day.

God Bless every single one of them and their families. HOO-RAH!

rwells

Panther wrote:

Howdy Moose,

What a wonderful Tribute you've assembled,
very touching and the attention to detail
and compassion shown in your images
left me with a lump in my throat.

I think your last statement sums it all up,
Thank you so much for sharing these with Us.

"they were truly ordinary people
forced to deal with extraordinary circumstances,
and are true American heroes."

Regardless of Political Ideals, or Beliefs,
The Men and Women that answer the Call
to Protect Us and our way of Life
can Never Be Forgotten.

Kindest Regards,

Craig

Craig said it very well and I also thank you for posting the images and story.