By:Jennifer Marino
It-s a nice day, the sun is shining, said Dan Brandi facetiously. Brandi is the president of the Chosin Few, survivors of the battle of the Chosin reservoir in the Korean War. The Chosin Few sponsored the remembrance ceremony with the Village of Rockville Centre. The ceremony featured honor guards, the South Side Middle School chorus and guest speaker General Joseph Healy.
Nearby villages also sent representatives including East Rockaway Trustee Edward Cook and Valley Stream American Legion Post 854. Mayor Eugene Murray remembered that in 1941 it was a crisp, clear, cold day on Dec. 7. The mayor noted that the ceremony also honored Rockville Centre resident Ron Winchester and Baldwin resident Wilfredo Urbina, who both died in Iraq.
There were color guards that stood in the pouring rain, representing the Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Rockville Centre Police and Fire Departments among others. The Army color guard could not make it because they were attending Urbina-s funeral that morning.
Guest speaker General Healy has been a Rockville Centre resident for over 40 years and used to lead the Fighting 69th. He was a young man on his way to benediction on Dec. 7, 1941. He recounted the ordinary events that led up to the attack, a sailor going up for a second helping of hot cakes, a brass band playing the national anthem as the flag was raised and Sunday morning religious services. He described Pearl Harbor as a moment when the impossible happened and warfare stretched over almost the entire world.
Pearl Harbor is peaceful today, he said, noting that over 1,000 sailors are entombed on the sunken USS Arizona. The memorial to the attack is over the ship. Freedom is never free, he said.
A wreath was thrown into Mill River and the South Side Middle School chorus sang God Bless America to end the ceremony.
