WWII vets, others recall day of infamy

Beacon Legion marks anniversary

By Dan Shapley
Poughkeepsie Journal

BEACON -- If John Corey had been standing, not crouched on the deck of his boat, he's sure the barrage of ammunition would have killed him at age 20 as it killed 2,390 others Dec. 7, 1941.

''The only thing I can think back on now is why I wasn't deathly afraid. If I had been straight up, I would have had no head, and no shoulders,'' the Beacon resident, now 81, said Saturday after a ceremony commemorating the attack on Pearl Harbor 61 years ago.

About 50 -- most of them veterans -- gathered at American Legion Post 203 in Beacon to remember the American servicemen and women who did not return home after the surprise Japanese attack that escalated the country's involvement in World War II.

''They thought they had broken the back and the will of the armed forces and the American people. They were mistaken,'' said James Clark, first vice commander of the American Legion post.

Many invoke Sept. 11, 2001

Many now see the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an echo of Pearl Harbor, and speakers Saturday compared the deaths of citizens with the sacrifice of the military in all of America's wars.

''Freedom is not free,'' Clark said. ''You pay for it.''

Veterans spoke of the deep appreciation they have for American freedom and the style of life it affords, which they gained after serving, and which many feel the country gained after Sept. 11.

''I thought I understood it, but I really didn't understand it until Sept. 11, then I understood what my father felt that day,'' said John Ambrose, post commander.

Ambrose's father and seven of his uncles enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack.

''He drilled into my head what the price of freedom is,'' Ambrose said.

Some speakers also alluded to the impending conflict with Iraq, and the ongoing conflicts associated with the war on terrorism that put American military at risk.

''It's appropriate that we gather at every opportunity to say thank you to our veterans. They're committed to our country. They're committed to us. And we're committed to them,'' Beacon Mayor Clara Lou Gould said.

''We have great confidence that they will do what needs to be done to keep our country free,'' she said.

Some also called for increasing benefits to veterans, as an estimated 300,000 nationwide must wait more than a month for medical treatment because of problems with the system.

Relevant Web link
To learn more about veterans or their present fight to improve health care, visit the American Legion on the Web at www.legion.org