Little Rock remembers Pearl Harbor

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 913th Airlift Group
Little Rock AFB, Ark. --  Hundreds gathered in the cold Wednesday, at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock, Ark., for the “Arkansas Remembers Pearl Harbor Ceremony,” commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A moment of silence was observed at 11:55, the local time of the attack.

The crowd was filled with veterans of many wars, civic leaders, public officials and a two survivors of the attack, William M. Chase and Walter Smith, all coming together to remember and recognize those of the “Greatest Generation,” who sacrificed so much.

Arkansas Governor William Asa Hutchinson II, and North Little Rock’s Mayor Joe Smith, attended the ceremony along with numerous other civic leaders, with Governor Hutchinson addressing the crowd.

The North Little Rock Community Concert Band, conducted by Rico Belotti, performed the “Arkansas Pearl Harbor Survivor March,” and two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Arkansas National Guard, Camp Robinson, Ark., performed a flyover of the crowd.

Arkansas World War II veteran Troy Edwards, who was a U.S. Navy Aviation Metalsmith 2nd Class during the war, recalled one of his fondest memories during that terrible time.

I worked on Pappy” Boyington’s airplane during the war,” Edwards said. “One day he came in with a bullet hole in the plexiglass canopy behind his head. Pappy told me to fix it, but I couldn’t mold plexiglass, so he told me, ‘just throw some metal over it, I’ve got to get back in the fight.”

Edwards said he “slapped” the metal patch on the aircraft, and Maj. Boyington got back in the air.

Gregory “Pappy” Boyington was a U.S. Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II, and he received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Boyington died in 1988.

The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum is in the middle of “Arkansas Remembers Pearl Harbor,” a week of events, which began on Monday and continue through Sunday at various locations throughout Little Rock that commemorating anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Arkansas has many ties to World War II, several are located here at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum. The museum has bookends to World War II with two naval vessels that witnessed both the beginning and the ending of the war,” said Allison Hiblong, museum curator.

The tugboat USS Hoga (YT 146) fought fires in Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack and the submarine USS Razorback (SS 394) was in Tokyo Bay when Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

USS Hoga, a Woban-class district harbor tug named after the Sioux Indian word for "fish," fought fires on Battleship Row for 72 continuous hours after the Japanese attack, and is the last floating Navy vessel present in Pearl Harbor during the attack. After World War II, the tug was known as Port of Oakland and then City of Oakland when she was a fireboat in that city.

On Nov. 23, 2015, the Hoga took her place on the Arkansas River alongside the USS Razorback (SS 394) a World War II submarine, with her own distinguished service record.

Volunteers hope to have the Hoga in better repair for next year’s event.