Gallery 7: My Speech, and the
Introduction of My Special Guest Speakers - Two Pearl Harbor
Survivors.
After the flag ceremony was over, it was my turn to
speak. I was lucky to get words out, feeling so many emotions
welling up inside me.
 
That day wasn't all about me though, it
was also December 7th... Pearl Harbor Day.
Fifty-nine years earlier, at 7:55AM on December 7,
1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and 2,400 American men, women, and children perished.
I was honored to have two military Pearl
Harbor survivors attend my ceremony as special guest speakers - a
total surprise to many present.
The first to speak was BMC John Delia,
USN(Ret), and he started by presenting me with a
"Remember Pearl Harbor" pin that I promptly pinned on my
lapel. Chief Delia was onboard the yard salvage derrick at Ford Island when the attack
began, suddenly finding himself
 caught between the exploding ships on Battleship Row and
the Japanese Zeros strafing our aircraft parked less than a hundred
yards away. He related a story about one of the three
Japanese planes he salvaged a few days after the attack, that had
crashed in the harbor near the Arizona. Under his flight suit,
the pilot was wearing civilian clothes, and had $864 in American
money in a pocket. Had he survived a crash or parachuted out,
he would have quickly blended into Hawaii's large Japanese
population! John had to leave before he got to relate any more
stories to us, in order to attend the Pearl Harbor Survivor
Association's annual ceremony at their memorial on Naval Amphibious
Base, Little Creek. The survivors meet at the local equivalent
of 7:55 AM Pearl Harbor time to commemorate the moment the attack
began, and pay tribute to those killed or wounded. That's 12:55
PM our time.
  
BMC John Delia,
USN(Ret)
Next to speak was MSgt Albert
Omahen, USMC(Ret), who took time out from
his 82nd birthday to come to my retirement ceremony! He was
spending some time camped in a tent on a hillside
overlooking the harbor, with a Marine contingent awaiting
transportation to Wake Island in the Western Pacific. MSgt Omahen
was one of many that day that were just far enough from the harbor
that they first thought it was some sort of Army/Navy
exercise. Right up until a Zero flew by him so close that he
could see the pilot look down at him, and he saw the
"meatballs" - the rising sun symbol painted on the wings
and fuselage of the Japanese planes. Unfortunately, the
Marines were too far from the harbor to help. They could only
watch, helplessly. Less than two hours after it began, it was
over.
 
MSgt Albert
Omahen, USMC(Ret)
I deeply appreciate both men for taking time, on a
day as important to them as it is to me, though for widely different
reasons.
Note: Some historical photographs were found at the
Naval
Historical Center website.
|
Throughout this gallery,
clicking on most pictures will display a larger image. 
