“December 7, 1941…a date which will live in infamy.”
Monday, December 7 marks the 79th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It is fitting that on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day we remember the U.S. sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen and civilians who gave their lives on that fateful day.
At 8:06 a.m., a Japanese bomber dropped an armor-piercing shell atop the forward ammunition magazine of the USS Arizona. Within seconds, a catastrophic explosion tore the mighty warship in half. Of the 1,512 crew members onboard, only 334 survived.
Owego Seaman First Class Delmar Dale Sibley is still entombed aboard the USS Arizona. The nephew of Owego Police Chief Earl Sibley became Owego and Tioga County’s first WWII casualty. The Delmar Dale Sibley Memorial Dining Room in the Owego VFW honors his memory along with his portrait and shadow box of commendations. He’s also memorialized in Honolulu Memorial Cemetery of the Missing.
- Four other Tioga County servicemen survived. They are now deceased after many years of civilian life with their families.
- Army Technical Sergeant Donald Stocks of Owego was a cook at Hickman Air Force Base and rescued victims.
- Army Sergeant Richard Hopkins of Berkshire survived the bombing at Schofield Barracks. He received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious combat service on Guadalcanal.
- Lester Buster Dunham of Owego was 200 yards away from the sinking ships. He fought in five battles on the islands.
- Army Air Corps’ Bill Kennedy of Owego survived the Hickman Air Force Field attack, comforted the wounded, and got them to the hospital.
Because of the pandemic, Monday’s remembrance at the VFW’s Delmar Dale Sibley Memorial Hall has been canceled. The community is encouraged to Remember Pearl Harbor at home, especially at 12:55 p.m. – the exact time of the attack.
