Memorial honoring CPO Frank P. Wojtkiewicz, US Navy, first Westfield resident WWII casualty on the USS Arizona. (MARC ST. ONGE/THE WESTFIELD NEWS)
WESTFIELD – City veterans and officials gathered Dec. 7 for the 79th observance of the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
The socially distanced ceremony took place at Kane and Wojtkiewicz Park Monday and honored those affected by what President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a “Day of Infamy.”
Master of Ceremony Cindy Lacoste of American Legion Post 124 said that like so many others, she would never forget.
“It is always amazing to me the unprecedented destructioin that occurred in Pearl Harbor so many years ago that plunged the United States into World War II,” said Lacoste. “We should never forget the 2,403 service members that lost their lives and the additional 1,178 wounded during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.”
Lacoste noted that the attack sank or destroyed six ships and destroyed 169 U.S. Navy and Army Air Corps. planes.
Post 124 Honor Guard member Steve White plays “Taps” to end the city’s Pearl Harbor ceremony Dec. 7, 2020. (MARC ST. ONGE/THE WESTFIELD NEWS).
“Most of the witnesses are no longer with us, but the legacy of the men and women who defended Pearl Harbor on the day of infamy will always remain,” Lacoste said, calling it the day that “defined America and changed the world.”
Special guests Monday included Brig. Gen. Sean Collins, Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr., state Sen. John C. Velis, state Rep. – elect Kelly Pease, Wojtkiewicz and Wendel family and members of the Westfield Veterans Council, American Leion Post 124, Sons of the American Legion, Auxiliary and Riders, American Legion Whip City memorial Post 454, Marine Corps. League Det. 141 and Vietnam Veterans Ch, 219.
Lacoste thanked those in attendance and said it is important to remember Pearl Harbor because it marked the beginning of a war for the United States.
“For Japan, it was the beginning of the end,” said Lacoste. “For those heroes of 79 years ago, we shall always be grateful. It is now up to us to teach our children the history of the country so that no one ever forgets their sacrifices and the freedoms we enjoy every day.”
