Pearl Harbor Memorial Ceremony

moose135

The American Airpower Museum hosted the annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Ceremony today. We had four Pearl Harbor Survivors in attendance. Following several speakers, the survivors were presented with Presidential Proclamations, then a Navy Chaplin blessed 69 roses - one for each year since the attack - using water collected near the USS Arizona. The roses were then taken by one of the Skytyper SNJs and dropped in New York Harbor near the Statue of Liberty at 12:55pm, marking the time of the attack in Hawaii. The rose drop has taken place every year since 1970.



The four survivors (seated) - William Halleran, Gerard Barbosa, Seymour Blutt and Bernard Berner.


Seymour Blutt salutes the National Anthem. I've seen Mr. Blutt and his daughter at the ceremony the past five years, and I've sort of "adopted" him. In 2006, his daughter asked if I would send her some photos of the ceremony, but never sent me her contact info. The same happened the next couple of years - finally last year, I took her address, and sent along a CD of photos. Last year, I finally had the chance to chat with Mr. Blutt. Turns out he was in the Army Air Corps (no wonder I like him - I'm an Air Force vet) at Wheeler Field at the time of the attack. We had the chance to renew our acquaintance today. Mr. Blutt is 92 years old, and his daughter said he wasn't feeling well yesterday, but he wasn't about to miss the ceremony today.


Col. Thomas Owens, Commander of the Long Island based 106th Air Rescue Wing, presents a Presidential Proclamation to Gerard Barbosa.




US Navy Reserve Chaplin, Captain Ronald Klose blessing the roses.










Complete gallery here

billseye

These pictures are poignant and so real. The one of Mr. Blutt is especially touching... and amplified by your story. You can sense that there are stories to tell in that head.

Thanks for posting these. I recently visited the memorial and it's a compelling experience. My paternal grandmother was an aspring journalist in Honolulu when the attack occured. She later wrote of her experiences onboard a navy ship transporting civilians to the mainland after the attack. Her son, my dad, died too young at 67 after serving in the army air corp as an experimental glider pilot. He lived a good life, just left while I was too young to truly appreciate the service he gave.

NewEnglandMoments

All very Crisp and Detailed, really nice !! but I BOW to u on Mr. Blutt, that just a FANTASTIC CAPTURE !!