Bay Ridge remembers Pearl Harbor

Veterans and Community Leaders Gather at American Veterans Memorial Pier for 76th Anniversary

December 8, 2017 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Veterans gather at American Veterans Memorial Pier to honor the soldiers who served at Pearl Harbor. Eagle photos by Arthur De Gaeta

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A small group of dedicated Bay Ridge veterans and local civic leaders braved the cold on Thursday for an emotional wreath-laying ceremony on the 76th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

The Brooklyn Council of the Kings County Veterans of Foreign Wars held the remembrance ceremony in Bay Ridge on the American Veterans Memorial Pier (formerly called the 69th Street Ferry Pier) at 11 a.m.

“I have to compliment the people who come out to remember those who lost their lives on behalf of our country,” Korean War veteran George Broadhead, a member of the Society of Old Brooklynites, told the Brooklyn Eagle.

“It’s a bitter, cold [day] but so what? Those men never saw the next day after Dec. 7, 1941.”

The memorial tribute, conducted by Brooklyn VFW County Commander Gary Wasserman, included tossing a wreath from the pier to represent the 2,403 Americans who died and the 1,178 who were wounded during the attack.

John Quaglione, deputy chief of staff and press secretary for state Sen. Marty Golden, represented Golden at the event.

“It’s special to have the Kings County Veterans here at the American Veterans Memorial Pier remember the men and women who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor,” Quaglione said. “And we stand here today to remember Pearl Harbor, where we also stand every year to remember 9/11, two tragic days in American history.”

Photographer Marc A. Hermann, a Bay Ridge resident, dressed up in full uniform as a World War II naval soldier, toting a gun and carrying the American flag. “As one of the youngest people here but wearing the oldest clothes, it’s a unique position,” Hermann said.

“I think it’s important for these veterans to know that once they’re gone, people from my generation will continue to remember them. They have nothing to worry about in that regard,” he added.

Veteran Vincent La Porta told the Eagle, “It’s an honor for me to be here to represent these men who will never be forgotten. God bless all of those veterans from those days. They will always be in our memory. God bless all the veterans that serve our country today and God bless America.”