Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor
Additional Photos Courtesy of Chris Constantine
A Day That Changed Our Nation
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
These are the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Congress after the United States was attacked by the Empire of Japan and he requested a formal declaration of war one day after the Sunday morning attack.
This was over 75 years ago, and Pearl Harbor marks this historic day with a commemorative parade as well as other ceremonies and memorials.
The District 11 NR Honor Guard participated in the parade and represented the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Sixteen members, (4 sentries and 12 flag and banner carriers) consisting of 13 Auxiliarists from District 11 NR, 1 from District 8 and 2 Active Duty members from Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA. led a platoon of 60 regular Coast Guard members, who in turn led the nationally renowned U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Team. Just seventeen days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Coast Guard from District 11 was engaged in combat with the Japanese off the coast of California.”
Marching with the Honor Guard was: Commander J. Andrew Williamson, Lieutenant Ernie Saparno, Tracy Schultz (HG Captain), Chester Bartalini (HG Captain Elect), Duane Blackwell (HG Chief), Rick Scheuerman, Georgie Scheuerman, Tamara Badano, Michael Badano, George Rogers, Steve Bustin, Karen Yoder, Kathy Boyle, Jerry Gillgren, Scott Cassell, and Chrstopher Ware.
Auxiliary participation all came about when Keith Simmons, a member of the Monterey, CA, Flotilla (6-4) and also a part time resident of Hawaii suggested to me, the Honor Guard Captain, (also of 6-4), how great it might be to participate in this historic parade.
I reviewed the PearlHarborParde.org website over Thanksgiving last year and looked at the requirements for registration. I received permission from DIRAUX of District 11NR and District 14 as well as Commodore Rich Thomas and District Chief of Staff, Wally Smith of D11 NR to pursue registration. The Pearl Harbor parade has a color guard and as our Honor Guard was also carrying both ceremonial rifles and colors it was an important distinction because we had to be reviewed by the Pacific Area Command. In February, after reviewing our website (cghg.weebly.com) and our resume, answering several questions, numerous email exchanges and registering, we were finally approved by Earl Hurrey, MGySgt USMC (ret) who was the Pearl Harbor Parade Committee Selection Committee Chair and incredibly supportive and helpful through the entire process.
Now the process of preparing for the event, practice, coordinating travel/flight arrangements, rental cars, accommodations and transporting gear became paramount.
Commander J. Andrew Williamson, MSQSM, LSSGB, Pacific Area 544 is an accomplished Honor Guardsman and graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy. Commander Williamson also spearheaded the funeral of Commander Ray Evans who was Douglas Monroe’s friend and shipmate when Monroe earned the only Medal of Honor in U.S. Coast Guard History.
Commander Williamson is the trainer and friend of the D11 NR Honor Guard and Silent Drill Team. Monthly trainings at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA. covered marching, manual of arms, logistics, honor and color protocols and preparations for Pearl Harbor. As a tune-up for Pearl Harbor all participants were requested to march in the Veterans Day Parade in Petaluma, CA.
Finally, the historic occasion loomed before us and we all traversed to the islands. One member, Christopher Ware traveled from Illinois while another left the hospital less than a day before the event to be there. Members stayed with friends, at downtown hotels and at Bellows Air Force Station cottages.
Marching the streets of Honolulu with the D11 NR Honor Guard were many veterans themselves, current active duty members, as well as accomplished authors, skilled workers, law enforcement and medical professionals, entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers, a Superior Court Judge and members with Doctorates. Many of us marched with the memories or actual memorabilia from loved ones who served and sacrificed in the war. It was a cathartic and emotional experience.
The D11 NR Honor Guard has participated in many events, including memorials, funerals, changes of watch, ship christenings, Memorial Day services, professional sporting events (baseball, hockey, football), Veterans Day and July Fourth parades and various auxiliary district meetings and training events. Each provides us with a great degree of satisfaction and pride. We are privileged to be given the honor to pay tribute, yet this event was different.
Our world was shaped by the events that happened in Pearl Harbor 75 years prior and everyone recognized it and had personal reflections of its significance. Every step, every second, every member in their own way said thank you to the brave men and women who served and sacrificed for this Nation both then and now.
In a key note address to commemorate the date, Navy Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Command called the attack “catastrophic by any standard,” and said, “these scars remind us of our history and how America responded with conspicuous valor.” To all who sacrificed, survived and perished he said, “we will never forget your courage under considerable fire and seemingly insurmountable odds,” and added “we owe you an immeasurable debt.”
The Honor Guard Captain Elect for 2017, the Honorable Superior Court Judge Chester Bartalini (retired) wrote in his article for the East Bay Times that “none of our previous events, individually or collectively, provided us the thrill and satisfaction as did our marching in the Pearl Harbor Parade. The emotion was almost overwhelming. Being in the presence of a survivor of the USS Arizona sinking and a number of survivors of the attack in general was without a doubt an emotional experience of a lifetime — right up there with my marriage and the birth of our children.”
“Until my participation in the Pearl Harbor Parade, I never had, to my memory, the opportunity to say “thank you.” Thank you to all those who gave their lives so that I would enjoy all the privileges and opportunities which I have in these 86 years.
Saying thank you in such a momentous atmosphere as the parade proved to be has given me a degree of satisfaction that I have made a down-payment on a debt I will never be able to pay in full”.
My own parents, as was the experience with many in our group were greatly impacted by December 7th. My Father left his tiny little town in North Dakota (population est. 250) to enlist in the U.S. Navy and fought in the South Pacific where he was wounded. My Mother left that same small town to travel to Los Angeles, CA to work as a “Rosie the Riveter” helping make nose cones for planes to fight in the war.
While our Honor Guard was in Honolulu we had the opportunity to meet and speak to Pearl Harbor survivors and their families, a survivor from the USS Arizona as well as a Tuskegee airman and countless other service representatives. We attended various ceremonies, memorials and exchanged challenge coins, took photos and thanked all for their service. When appropriate, several members even bought a dinner or a drink for the survivors or their families as a way to say “thank you”.
Many Honor Guard members visited the iconic USS Arizona memorial where more than one thousand sailors and Marines remain entombed as well as Hickam field and the battleship USS Missouri on which Japan formally signed surrender documents in Tokyo Bay in 1945.
The significance of visiting where the war started for America and ended as well as its representation of tragedy, triumph, sacrifice, resolve and the great American spirit that changed the global order as well as visit with actual survivors and family members who could regale us with first-hand accounts of the attack and aftermath was beyond compare.
In 1944, the average soldier of WWII was 26 years old. Virtually all surviving American veterans are in their nineties and approximately half a million of them are still living. The oldest survivor of the attack is 104 years old. About 50,000 service men and women were in Oahu on December 7, 1941 and very few remain. Sadly, a great number of them cross over the bar each year and it is likely that in less than a decade none will remain. This anniversary is bittersweet as it is expected to be the last major anniversary featuring actual survivors.
America has had various historic rally cries, from “Remember the Alamo” to “Remember the Maine” to the significance of the expression “9/11.” The rally cry of WWII was “Remember Pearl Harbor.” FDR galvanized that with his speech noting that the date was one that will live in infamy. The Motto of the 75th anniversary is “honoring the past, inspiring the future.” The United States Coast Guard family of Active Duty members, Auxiliarists and the D11 NR Honor Guard were privileged to honor and remember Pearl Harbor and the sacrifices made by those who inspired our future and shaped this great Nation.
Our sincerest thanks to all who helped make this possible
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
These are the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Congress after the United States was attacked by the Empire of Japan and he requested a formal declaration of war one day after the Sunday morning attack.
This was over 75 years ago, and Pearl Harbor marks this historic day with a commemorative parade as well as other ceremonies and memorials.
The District 11 NR Honor Guard participated in the parade and represented the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Sixteen members, (4 sentries and 12 flag and banner carriers) consisting of 13 Auxiliarists from District 11 NR, 1 from District 8 and 2 Active Duty members from Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA. led a platoon of 60 regular Coast Guard members, who in turn led the nationally renowned U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Team. Just seventeen days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Coast Guard from District 11 was engaged in combat with the Japanese off the coast of California.”
Marching with the Honor Guard was: Commander J. Andrew Williamson, Lieutenant Ernie Saparno, Tracy Schultz (HG Captain), Chester Bartalini (HG Captain Elect), Duane Blackwell (HG Chief), Rick Scheuerman, Georgie Scheuerman, Tamara Badano, Michael Badano, George Rogers, Steve Bustin, Karen Yoder, Kathy Boyle, Jerry Gillgren, Scott Cassell, and Chrstopher Ware.
Auxiliary participation all came about when Keith Simmons, a member of the Monterey, CA, Flotilla (6-4) and also a part time resident of Hawaii suggested to me, the Honor Guard Captain, (also of 6-4), how great it might be to participate in this historic parade.
I reviewed the PearlHarborParde.org website over Thanksgiving last year and looked at the requirements for registration. I received permission from DIRAUX of District 11NR and District 14 as well as Commodore Rich Thomas and District Chief of Staff, Wally Smith of D11 NR to pursue registration. The Pearl Harbor parade has a color guard and as our Honor Guard was also carrying both ceremonial rifles and colors it was an important distinction because we had to be reviewed by the Pacific Area Command. In February, after reviewing our website (cghg.weebly.com) and our resume, answering several questions, numerous email exchanges and registering, we were finally approved by Earl Hurrey, MGySgt USMC (ret) who was the Pearl Harbor Parade Committee Selection Committee Chair and incredibly supportive and helpful through the entire process.
Now the process of preparing for the event, practice, coordinating travel/flight arrangements, rental cars, accommodations and transporting gear became paramount.
Commander J. Andrew Williamson, MSQSM, LSSGB, Pacific Area 544 is an accomplished Honor Guardsman and graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy. Commander Williamson also spearheaded the funeral of Commander Ray Evans who was Douglas Monroe’s friend and shipmate when Monroe earned the only Medal of Honor in U.S. Coast Guard History.
Commander Williamson is the trainer and friend of the D11 NR Honor Guard and Silent Drill Team. Monthly trainings at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA. covered marching, manual of arms, logistics, honor and color protocols and preparations for Pearl Harbor. As a tune-up for Pearl Harbor all participants were requested to march in the Veterans Day Parade in Petaluma, CA.
Finally, the historic occasion loomed before us and we all traversed to the islands. One member, Christopher Ware traveled from Illinois while another left the hospital less than a day before the event to be there. Members stayed with friends, at downtown hotels and at Bellows Air Force Station cottages.
Marching the streets of Honolulu with the D11 NR Honor Guard were many veterans themselves, current active duty members, as well as accomplished authors, skilled workers, law enforcement and medical professionals, entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers, a Superior Court Judge and members with Doctorates. Many of us marched with the memories or actual memorabilia from loved ones who served and sacrificed in the war. It was a cathartic and emotional experience.
The D11 NR Honor Guard has participated in many events, including memorials, funerals, changes of watch, ship christenings, Memorial Day services, professional sporting events (baseball, hockey, football), Veterans Day and July Fourth parades and various auxiliary district meetings and training events. Each provides us with a great degree of satisfaction and pride. We are privileged to be given the honor to pay tribute, yet this event was different.
Our world was shaped by the events that happened in Pearl Harbor 75 years prior and everyone recognized it and had personal reflections of its significance. Every step, every second, every member in their own way said thank you to the brave men and women who served and sacrificed for this Nation both then and now.
In a key note address to commemorate the date, Navy Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Command called the attack “catastrophic by any standard,” and said, “these scars remind us of our history and how America responded with conspicuous valor.” To all who sacrificed, survived and perished he said, “we will never forget your courage under considerable fire and seemingly insurmountable odds,” and added “we owe you an immeasurable debt.”
The Honor Guard Captain Elect for 2017, the Honorable Superior Court Judge Chester Bartalini (retired) wrote in his article for the East Bay Times that “none of our previous events, individually or collectively, provided us the thrill and satisfaction as did our marching in the Pearl Harbor Parade. The emotion was almost overwhelming. Being in the presence of a survivor of the USS Arizona sinking and a number of survivors of the attack in general was without a doubt an emotional experience of a lifetime — right up there with my marriage and the birth of our children.”
“Until my participation in the Pearl Harbor Parade, I never had, to my memory, the opportunity to say “thank you.” Thank you to all those who gave their lives so that I would enjoy all the privileges and opportunities which I have in these 86 years.
Saying thank you in such a momentous atmosphere as the parade proved to be has given me a degree of satisfaction that I have made a down-payment on a debt I will never be able to pay in full”.
My own parents, as was the experience with many in our group were greatly impacted by December 7th. My Father left his tiny little town in North Dakota (population est. 250) to enlist in the U.S. Navy and fought in the South Pacific where he was wounded. My Mother left that same small town to travel to Los Angeles, CA to work as a “Rosie the Riveter” helping make nose cones for planes to fight in the war.
While our Honor Guard was in Honolulu we had the opportunity to meet and speak to Pearl Harbor survivors and their families, a survivor from the USS Arizona as well as a Tuskegee airman and countless other service representatives. We attended various ceremonies, memorials and exchanged challenge coins, took photos and thanked all for their service. When appropriate, several members even bought a dinner or a drink for the survivors or their families as a way to say “thank you”.
Many Honor Guard members visited the iconic USS Arizona memorial where more than one thousand sailors and Marines remain entombed as well as Hickam field and the battleship USS Missouri on which Japan formally signed surrender documents in Tokyo Bay in 1945.
The significance of visiting where the war started for America and ended as well as its representation of tragedy, triumph, sacrifice, resolve and the great American spirit that changed the global order as well as visit with actual survivors and family members who could regale us with first-hand accounts of the attack and aftermath was beyond compare.
In 1944, the average soldier of WWII was 26 years old. Virtually all surviving American veterans are in their nineties and approximately half a million of them are still living. The oldest survivor of the attack is 104 years old. About 50,000 service men and women were in Oahu on December 7, 1941 and very few remain. Sadly, a great number of them cross over the bar each year and it is likely that in less than a decade none will remain. This anniversary is bittersweet as it is expected to be the last major anniversary featuring actual survivors.
America has had various historic rally cries, from “Remember the Alamo” to “Remember the Maine” to the significance of the expression “9/11.” The rally cry of WWII was “Remember Pearl Harbor.” FDR galvanized that with his speech noting that the date was one that will live in infamy. The Motto of the 75th anniversary is “honoring the past, inspiring the future.” The United States Coast Guard family of Active Duty members, Auxiliarists and the D11 NR Honor Guard were privileged to honor and remember Pearl Harbor and the sacrifices made by those who inspired our future and shaped this great Nation.
Our sincerest thanks to all who helped make this possible