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Light Drizzle Fog/Mist A solemn remembrance in Rockville Centre
Pearl Harbor Day ceremony at Mill River recalls the horrors of war and the lessons learned
The Pearl Harbor attack of Dec. 7, 1941, called “a day which will live in infamy” by President Franklin Roosevelt, was on the minds of veterans and Rockville Centre officials Tuesday morning, as they commemorated the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack during a solemn, brief ceremony held in Centennial Park at Mill River.
“This ceremony is important,” Mayor Mary Bossart said. “Today we pay tribute to the lives we lost sixty-nine years ago and the lives currently serving overseas… We remain in debt to all those brave Americans.”
Joseph Scarola, vice commander of American Legion Post 303 on Maple Avenue, described the attack on Pearl Harbor as a learning experience that Americans must be reminded of through the years: “Pearl Harbor is a symbol of underestimating the threats to our freedom and the importance of always being prepared to defend it. Let’s not forget it.”
Toward the end of the 15-minute ceremony, Bossart and veterans of the Army and Navy carried a wreath to Mill River, where it was laid on the water. Trustees Ed Oppenheimer and David Krasula and Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario attended the event.
