thedrifter
08-15-08, 07:40 AM
Homage paid to World War II heroes of Guadalcanal
Veterans groups gatherin North Tonawanda
By Aaron Besecker - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
Updated: 08/15/08 8:04 AM
NORTH TONAWANDA — Stephen
J. Sikora, the first North Tonawanda resident killed in combat during World War II, died when the USS Colhoun sank during fighting near the Pacific island of Guadalcanal.
Sixty-six years and one week after the start of that battle against the Japanese, a national veterans group came to North Tonawanda on Wednesday to remember the fallen.
More than 50 members of Guadalcanal Veterans from across the United States gathered in Fisherman’s Park on the Niagara River.
Current and former service personnel from the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard were on hand, along with local veterans groups.
“They are that band of brothers who put their lives in harm’s way,” said David R. Jakubaszek, a member of Sikora Post 1322, American Legion, “and we are all grateful for their service.”
The 1,200-member organization, which consists of surviving veterans and family members, is holding its annual reunion this week in Western New York.
In the key battle in the Pacific Theater, more than 5,000 U. S. troops and 21,000 Japanese soldiers died over six months of fighting that began Aug. 7, 1942.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, color guards representing each military branch marched between the park’s two memorials: one to the Navy Seabees and the other to the Marines.
The ceremony, which included a rifle salute followed by the release of 15 doves, also featured the reading of the names of more than 150 veterans of the Guadalcanal battle who died over the past year.
The message from several of Wednesday’s speakers was one of solemn thanks.
“You hold a special place in the heart and the history of the Marine Corps,” said Louis J. Wunsch Jr., commandant of Conrad F. Kania Detachment 230, Marine Corps League.
Jerry Mohn, national secretary of Guadalcanal Veterans, said members arrived here Monday from all around
the nation, including Massachusetts, Florida and California.
The group, which is staying until Sunday morning, plans to visit Niagara Falls today, said Mohn, who lives in Reading, Pa.
Patrick W. Welch, Erie County director of veterans services and a former Marine, noted the importance of Guadalcanal as the first U. S. offensive action in the Pacific, eight months to the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“I am always humbled when I am in the presence of greatness,” Welch said. “And, when I am amongst my fellow veterans, greatness is all around me.”
abesecker@buffnews.com
Ellie
Veterans groups gatherin North Tonawanda
By Aaron Besecker - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
Updated: 08/15/08 8:04 AM
NORTH TONAWANDA — Stephen
J. Sikora, the first North Tonawanda resident killed in combat during World War II, died when the USS Colhoun sank during fighting near the Pacific island of Guadalcanal.
Sixty-six years and one week after the start of that battle against the Japanese, a national veterans group came to North Tonawanda on Wednesday to remember the fallen.
More than 50 members of Guadalcanal Veterans from across the United States gathered in Fisherman’s Park on the Niagara River.
Current and former service personnel from the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard were on hand, along with local veterans groups.
“They are that band of brothers who put their lives in harm’s way,” said David R. Jakubaszek, a member of Sikora Post 1322, American Legion, “and we are all grateful for their service.”
The 1,200-member organization, which consists of surviving veterans and family members, is holding its annual reunion this week in Western New York.
In the key battle in the Pacific Theater, more than 5,000 U. S. troops and 21,000 Japanese soldiers died over six months of fighting that began Aug. 7, 1942.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, color guards representing each military branch marched between the park’s two memorials: one to the Navy Seabees and the other to the Marines.
The ceremony, which included a rifle salute followed by the release of 15 doves, also featured the reading of the names of more than 150 veterans of the Guadalcanal battle who died over the past year.
The message from several of Wednesday’s speakers was one of solemn thanks.
“You hold a special place in the heart and the history of the Marine Corps,” said Louis J. Wunsch Jr., commandant of Conrad F. Kania Detachment 230, Marine Corps League.
Jerry Mohn, national secretary of Guadalcanal Veterans, said members arrived here Monday from all around
the nation, including Massachusetts, Florida and California.
The group, which is staying until Sunday morning, plans to visit Niagara Falls today, said Mohn, who lives in Reading, Pa.
Patrick W. Welch, Erie County director of veterans services and a former Marine, noted the importance of Guadalcanal as the first U. S. offensive action in the Pacific, eight months to the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“I am always humbled when I am in the presence of greatness,” Welch said. “And, when I am amongst my fellow veterans, greatness is all around me.”
abesecker@buffnews.com
Ellie