Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony in Ocala: 'The attack changed people's lives.'

A Pearl Harbor Day remembrance ceremony was held Tuesday at TimberRidge Center for Rehabilitation & Healing to mark the 80th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese surprise attack that drew the U.S. into World War II and also to pay homage to the late Jack Edge, a survivor of the attack who died on Nov. 28 at age 97.

Edge, of Ocala, had been scheduled to be the guest of honor at the ceremony.

"We honor all veterans today, especially those like Jack Edge who were at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941," said retired U.S. Army Maj. Morrey Deen as the ceremony opened.

A day to remember: Pearl Harbor 'led to a changed world.' 80 years later, a fading memory will be honored again.

A local hero: Jack Edge, Pearl Harbor survivor and Ocala resident, dies at age 97

Community With a Heart: Ocala/Marion County once again reaches out to help those in need

Vocalists Drew and Lindsay Elliot and Mike Vann sang "Remember Pearl Harbor," a WW II-era song that speaks of "fighting for liberty" and going on "to victory."

Jack Edge's son, Dale, and Dale's wife, Julie, represented the family at the ceremony.

"My dad said the attack changed people's lives," said Dale Edge, a Marine Corps veteran.

The late Jack Edge was 17 when the Pearl Harbor attack happened

Jack Edge, then 17, joined the Navy in February 1941. The ship he was first assigned to "blew up" and he was later assigned to the submarine tender the U.S.S. Pelias, which was docked at Pearl Harbor during the air raid 80 years ago.

Dale Edge said the Japanese airplanes attacked on a "sleepy Sunday morning" after the crews had enjoyed a "Big Band Night" Saturday.

Dale Edge said the U.S.S. Pelias had devices (gyros) on board that were used in the torpedoes carried by U.S. submarines, and the ship was spotted by the first wave of incoming Japanese planes.

Jack Edge, suffering an acute appendix attack, was in the medical section of the ship, scheduled to have his appendix removed the Sunday morning of the attack, Dale Edge has said in previous Star-Banner interviews.

An officer announced the incoming planes and Jack Edge and the others in the ward went to their stations, Dale Edge stated in the interviews.

Jake Edge manned a radio to spot planes and handled ammunition during the attack.

The crews of the Pelias and two other U.S. ships combined were credited with shooting down one Japanese plane and damaging, according to an official Action Report at the Naval History and Heritage website, history.navy.mil.

The website states the attack on Pearl Harbor took the lives of 2,008 members of the Navy, 109 Marines 218 Army personnel and 68 civilians.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan the next day, calling December 7, 1941, a day that would "live in infamy."

'The smell of the burning flesh and oil'

Dale Edge said his father recounted stories of the attack no photo could ever tell. He said his father recalled reaching to "rescue a man in the burning oil (after the attack) and the skin came off (the man's) arm."

"Dad said you could look at all he pictures and videos of the attack but none of it would give the smell of the burning flesh and oil," Dale Edge said.

A biography provided at the ceremony stated Jack Edge served 20 years in the Navy with 16 years at sea.

Dale Edge has said in prior interviews his parents lived in Maryland and Virginia Beach, Virginia, and operated a faith-based outreach called the "Servicemen's Christian Home'" until the 1980s, when they traveled nationwide in an RV to visit friends they had made in the military.

Dale Edge said in a prior interview his father's appendix was removed at the Naval Hospital in Pensacola in 2012 and Jack and Alice Edge moved to Ocala the same year.

Alice Edge, Jack’s wife of 71 years, passed away in 2020 at age 92.

Jack Edge advised everyone to remain vigilant

Jack Edge cautioned the public in published reports over the years to remain aware of any possible attack against the country like the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

“My father said to always be vigilant," Dale Edge said.

At Tuesday's ceremony, Craig Ham, retired Army colonel and Vietnam War veteran and president of the Marion County Veterans Council, said, "all veterans should be remembered this day, many are not here (today)."

Ken Nichols with the Ocala Nautilus Base/ Holland Club, whose members served on submarines, represented the Southeastern District of the organization at the ceremony.

"Submarines took (World War II) to Japan" after the Pearl Harbor attack, he said.

TimberRidge residents joined the ceremony

A number of TimberRidge residents, some assisted by staff members, joined the outdoor ceremony. Among them was Evelyn Heath, 92, who was 12 when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Heath recalled the impact of the attack. She added that her father died from injuries suffered in World War I.

Resident Laura Carroll said her father joined the military right after the Pearl Harbor attack.

The ceremony, which included support from the Marion County Veterans Service Office and Friends of Marion County's Veterans Park, was the first to make use of a new 20-foot-long cargo trailer recently purchased by Marion County Parks and Recreation. It is used to haul tables, chairs and other items for events held away from the veterans park.

The park is operated by the Marion County Veterans Service Office and supported by the Friends of Marion County Veterans Park.

'We met in the middle'

State Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, told the audience veterans "make a commitment" to serve.

"We must never forget the great price of liberty," Baxley said.

Jeffrey Askew, director of Marion County Veterans Services, said he had shared many stories with Jack Edge about each other's service in the Navy.

"(Jack Edge) told 1940s stories and I told 1970s stories, but we met in the middle," Askew said.

"I'll never forget, Jack Edge told me: 'This life is hard; (you have to ) keep looking to God and never give up.' He had one ship blow up and went through the attack at Pearl Harbor, but he never gave up," Askew said.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Pearl Harbor, 80 years later: Ceremony in Ocala honors veterans