SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It’s one of the darkest days in US history, the bombing of Pearl Harbor 81 years ago.
December 7, 1941, 2,403 people lost their lives when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor Hawaii, plunging the U.S. into World War II.
Honesdale, Wayne County, Dec. 7, 2022, eight decades later, dozens of local Veterans paid their respects to those who never made it home from that day. This remembrance ceremony hosted by Wayne Memorial Hospital included a playing of taps, a reading about the attack, and a wreath-laying.
“They sacrificed their time, some of them their lives to defend America to defend the values of America,” said Charlie Spano.
Charlie Spano is the chairman of the Lackawanna County 9/11 Memorial Committee. He recalls how dozens of NEPA residents were fighting the enemy in Pearl Harbor on that fateful day. He points out Walter Pasiac, a decorated World War II Veteran and the last known Pearl Harbor attack survivor from Lackawanna County. In 2021, the Scranton native’s legacy was immortalized on a sign near the Breck Street home where he lived for decades.
“Walter passing away in 2021 is our last living link to that era is gone which makes it even more important to remember what he did, why he did it and where he did it, and to support the values he fought for,” added Spano.
“We ultimately wound up with 158 citizens of Lackawanna County who had enlisted in the navy or the army or who were actually working as civilians in the military department of Pearl Harbor and we found that to be exciting because there were so many.”
Pasiac lost his life to covid-19 in January 2021
If you have an idea for us on veterans’ voices, send an email directly to Nick Toma at ntoma@pahomepage.com.
