Oneonta's Memorial Day events honors fallen Oneonta soldier

May 29—The Oneonta community paid tribute to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo during this year's Memorial Day parade and ceremony.

Eramo, who was stationed in Alaska, was killed April 27, when two U.S. Army helicopters collided while headed to Fort Wainwright from a mission in the Donnelly Training area, the Associated Press reported.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Shawn Huebner served with Eramo and traveled from Alaska to Oneonta to march in the parade. He brought a 25th Attack Battalion flag that a member of American Legion Post 259 carried in the honor guard. Huebner and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hodges held a banner with Eramo's name and photo during the parade and ceremony. Hodges said he was best friends with Eramo since grade school.

In addition to Huebner and Hodges, several family and friends of Eramo marched in and watched the ceremony at Neahwa Park after the parade. Other family members and friends were able to watch the parade and ceremony live online, parade organizer David Hayes said. Jennilee Eramo and Dillion Eramo were named this year's grand marshals and rode in John Brooks' '57 Chevy, Hayes said.

Guest speakers Mayor Mark Drnek, former Mayor Gary Herzig and Rev. Sam Judd remembered Eramo.

"Today, as we honor the life, and mourn the loss of Oneonta's own, Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Thomas Eramo, we train our focus on the purpose of the day, a rightful expectation that we recall the lives and times of those taken from us to soon," Drnek said.

Drnek said he recently visited the Legion's museum and noticed some family names he recognized.

"Many of you would too," he said. "Because Oneonta is, and has always been, a small city. A community, and a family. And as we embrace the Eramo family, hold them to our heart, and provide them comfort, our family grows. Let us celebrate the great connection we share, the grief and the joy, the spirit, the love of those we've lost and the warmth of their memory."

Herzig also remembered Eramo and expressed his sympathy to the family and expressed his gratitude for his service. "Christopher knew the risks, but that didn't stop him from going onto the path of protecting others," he said.

Herzig said he learned Monday that Eramo fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, and said, "we owe him our deepest appreciation and gratitude."

Herzig also mentioned the members of the Legion who fought in World War II who died in the past year; Tony Drago, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was a prisoner of war, and Bill Davis, communications officer in B-17 and B-19s.

"These men were lucky enough to come back home," he said. They served the community in many ways, he said. "When you think how much less we would be if they had not come back home, you think how much more could we have been if some of the others came home," he said.

Herzig talked about his grandmother, who had relatives in Yugoslavia. During World War II, she received letters and pictures from her relatives until March 11, 1943, when all the Jewish people of Bitola were rounded up, placed on cattle cars and sent to the Treblinka concentration camp, he said. "None survived," he said. He thanked the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the war.

"Oneonta is so fortunate to say that a man so courageous once called this place home," Judd said after he was able to talk to Eramo's family and learn about his life. "Oneonta is so fortunate to say that a man who was such a great example of what it means to be a servant, what it means to be a husband, what it means to be an adventurer, what it means to live with a whole heart. That a man like this once called Oneonta home."

Judd said Eramo was a great instructor and an expert pilot, and was a great husband. Eramo met his wife, Jennilee, while they were in high school and they were married in their early 20s. During his service he was stationed in Alaska and Hawaii, he said, and he and his wife explored the islands when he got his pilot license.

"What a legacy," Judd said. "What a legacy to be an inspiration to others, to be a better version of themselves. And what a legacy that he was the husband that men are all called to be. Devoted. Loved. Inseparable. Friends, whether you know it or not you are all leaders of some kind. You have the power to influence those around you. What will you do with that power? Will you, like Chief Christopher Eramo use that power to make this world a better place? Will you inspire others to live with their whole heart? Will you inspire others to be brave?"

During the ceremony, American Legion Post 259 Commander Terry Harkenreader presented an American flag to Jennilee. Past Commander Len Carson, who was the master of the ceremonies, read a state legislative resolution on behalf of Sen. Peter Oberacker and Assemblyman Brian Miller and presented it to Jennilee. Drnek read a city proclamation and presented a plaque to Jennilee. Margaret Kennedy, vice chair of the Otsego County Board of Representatives, expressed her sympathy to the family and said a proclamation will be approved at the June 7 board meeting.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.