Dec. 7 event brings history home

By David Eck

SIDNEY DEANERY — It’s been 66 years since the attack at Pearl Harbor, and Bob Barrett wants to make sure today’s kids remember the sailors and soldiers who died that day as well as all those who have paid the ultimate price defending our country.

CT/DAVID ECK

Diane Hoying, a sixth-grade teacher at St. Patrick School, prepares to toss a carnation into the Great Miami River during the school's Pearl Harbor Memorial Service,

More than 150 students, teachers and parents braved the elements for the 90-minute outdoor service held in a park at the edge of the Great Miami River. It featured speeches, flags and the touching ceremony of students dropping red and white carnations off of a bridge and into the river.

"We are losing 1,000 World War II veterans a day," Barrett said. "We need to keep their memory and their spirit alive."

As city police officers blocked off streets, the students walked two-by-two about five blocks from the school to the park. Sixth-graders carrying the American flag and other flags representing the service branches led the procession. With the Stars and Stripes out front, the students walked single file into the park, where the event’s guest speakers were located.

Troy Mayor Michael Beamish, one of the speakers, told the students of his visit to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial.

"This solemn setting in Hawaii does show us all the realities of war. It is history that is not to be forgotten," the mayor said. "Today we bring history alive as we remember those entombed in the sunken USS Arizona."

Barrett’s brother, Chuck, a Vietnam veteran, spoke of their father, who served in a B-17 bomber in World War II. Their dad never talked much of his war experiences until later in his life.

"He’s what you call a quiet hero," Chuck Barrett said. "All of us know veterans. They were people like you and I. They were ordinary people."

After the speeches, the students walked onto a bridge over the river and tossed in the carnations. In recent weeks, community and St. Patrick Parish members purchased carnations from the students in memory and honor of veterans. The sale raised more than $4,000, half of which will be used for the sixth-grade’s class trip to the Washington, D.C., this year. The other half will go to the USS Arizona Memorial Fund.

CT/DAVID ECK

Students from St. Patrick School in Troy walk along the Great Miami River during the school’s Pearl Harbor Memorial Service on Dec. 7. Flag bearers from front are Elaina Snyder, Colin O’Banion, Ian Stutz, Shannon Looney, Erin Looney, Shelby Pence and Alyssa Rose.

Bob Barrett developed the idea for a Pearl Harbor service at the school during his own visit to the Arizona last summer. He was touched by the outline of the battleship and the oil that still leaks from her fuel tanks.

"I was personally moved by what I saw, being a veteran and an American," he said. "It’s still alive for us."

Teachers have been talking to their students about Pearl Harbor in preparation for the ceremony.

"If we hadn’t been able to win the war, things could have been a whole lot different," said Colin O’Banion, a sixth-grader.

"It’s important to a lot of people," said Courtney Burgasser, another sixth-grader. "It’s a moment in history."

Some of the students said it’s vital to remember our country’s history and the sacrifices veterans have made for us.

"It just seems that our troops and everyone is giving for us today," said Alyssa Rose, who is also in sixth grade. "I think it’s just important to understand what our country has gone through."