81 years ago Pearl Harbor was attacked. A ceremony Wednesday memorialized the event
At about 11:56 a.m. Wednesday a bell was heard ringing from the war memorials at the Boone County Courthouse.
The reason was to mark the 81st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941, which would plunge the U.S. into World War II. The attack started at 7:56 Hawaii time, while it was 11:56 a.m. in Missouri, hence the start time of the ceremony.
The bell was rung both for the ships destroyed along what was known as Battleship Row in the attack and the more than 2,000 lives lost and more than 1,000 injuries.
The ceremony Wednesday was hosted the by U.S. Tiger Foundation, a national organization based in Columbia with the purpose of memorializing major military events and service members.
It also served as a chance to recognize Carol Thompson, U.S. Army veteran who served from 1976-1981 and was the first woman mechanic in her company repairing heavy machinery and trucks; and Charles Rabeni, former University of Missouri professor who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1971. Rabeni's uncle, also named Charles Rabeni, served during World War II and was on the U.S.S. Raleigh when it was sunk in the Pearl Harbor attack.
The last thing Thompson wanted to be was a secretary she said about her service.
USTF also is conducting a blanket drive through Dec. 15 for veterans and their families. Donations are accepted at the USTF office at 1001 E. Walnut St. For more information or to arrange a donation, call the USTF office at 573-356-0529.
Remarks and proclamations were read by Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe; USTF board member Dave Raithel, who read the proclamation from Gov. Mike Parson; Susan Haines, USTF executive director; Petty Officer 1st Class Kenneth Fields, who read remarks from U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro; and Justin Aldred, Boone County southern district commissioner.
It was Haines who shared the story of the U.S.S. St. Louis, also known as "Lucky Lou," which would sound general quarters as the attack started and its crew would work up the engine so that it could cut its moorings and mount a counter-attack on the planes and other vessels responsible for the attack.
"She had to run a gauntlet of enemy planes through Pearl's channel. Her crew saw the horror of the morning," Haines said. "Few ships were able to do what this ship was doing."
Buffaloe related being slightly chilled when a siren started near the ceremony. It was the first Wednesday of the month and weather sirens were activated as a test, but it likely was the same sound soldiers and civilians alike would have heard around 10 minutes after the start of the attack.
Her father was born in 1941 and so was just an infant when the attack happened.
"I think about what it must have been like for a young mother to have her first-born child and then to have this witness and wonder what (world) you are bringing your child into," Buffaloe said.
In remarks from Del Toro read by Fields, they noted the total aftermath of the attack and its 21 ships sunk or damaged, 188 destroyed aircraft and 159 damaged.
"While the material costs were grave, the human cost was worse: 2,403 dead, 1,178 wounded. Both military and civilian," Fields read. "Today, we gratefully remember all of those we lost on that infamous day. But we also honor the bravery and skill of all those who fought back."
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Ceremony at Boone County Courthouse marks 81 years since Pearl Harbor
