Huntington Beach commemorates 75th anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor
It was a poignant ceremony, only about 20 minutes long, but long enough for the sharing of stories and recognition of common emotions.
About 50 people gathered Wednesday at the Huntington Beach war memorial, at City Hall, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The clouds parted just in time for the 2 p.m. start of the ceremony, sponsored by American Legion Post 133 and the city.
Karen Richardson took time to honor her father. Ardenne Allen Woodward’s name was added to the memorial last year after a city historian discovered that it had been left off.
Woodward, who was 20 at the time of the attack on Hawaii by the Japanese — which marked the entry of the U.S. into World War II — was among the 1,177 soldiers who died when the USS Arizona capsized. The USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu was built over the sunken remains.
During the Huntington Beach ceremony, Richardson placed a bouquet of flowers and an image of her father at the foot of the city memorial, next to a standing rifle, an Army helmet and a pair of boots.
A folded American flag was placed on an empty chair in front of the memorial to signify the soldiers who were killed or went missing in action.
Under a billowing American flag, Mayor Jim Katapodis spoke to the importance of remembering Pearl Harbor.
“It is moving to be here,” Katapodis said. “Veterans are near and dear to our hearts. I am very humbled when I am around veterans. It never gets old to say ‘freedom is not free.’ Seventy-five years is a long time but we should never forget.”
The mayor said he had visited the site of the attack and was moved by the experience.
“You cannot describe that feeling,” he said.
Veteran Jim Ghormley, master of ceremonies for the event, described the brave acts of Robert Scott, who was tasked with maintaining the air compressor on the USS Californian at the time it was attacked and capsized by a Japanese torpedo.
As the ship filled with water, Scott’s last words were, “This is my station and I will stay and give them air as long as the guns are going,” Ghormley recounted.
Ghormley said Scott was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
“Heroism on that day was sufficient for a lifetime,” Ghormley said.
Following Ghormley’s speech, members of American Legion Post 133 raised their rifles and fired two sets of three shots into the air. Then Taps, a traditional bugle call performed at military ceremonies, was played as the veterans in the audience straightened their posture and saluted the American flag.
Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
