VFW Post 2955 honor those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor
About a dozen members of the VFW Post in Roscoe, IL are World War II veterans.
Each year, VFW Post 2955 in Roscoe pays tribute to those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.
On December 7, 2023, John Rossato, 96, a World War II veteran, laid a ceremonial wreath in the Rock River at Riverside Park in Roscoe. Rossato is a past Post Commander and one of about a dozen World War II veterans in Post 2955.
Post Commander Rubin Hernandez addressed a gathering at 11:45 a.m., minutes before the precise time of the Pearl Harbor attack at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian time.
Hernandez and Chuck Ingle memorialized military members who were killed during the surprise attack. Ingle read the entire speech given by President Franklin D Roosevelt on December 8,1941, who addressed the United States Congress requesting declaration of war against the Empire of Japan.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Post Color Guard fired a five-rifle salute followed by the playing of "Taps" on bugle.
Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech was in response to an attack on the United States Army and Navy bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, resulting in the death of 2,403 service members and civilians killed in an unprovoked attack at 12:30 p.m., December 7, 1941.
Two ships, the USS Arizona and the USS Utah, and 188 aircraft were destroyed. The attack led to the beginning of World War II. Today, a marble memorial lies over the sunken USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor.
On August 23, 1994, in commemoration of the tragedy, the United States Congress designated December 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The National World War II Museum says that, of the 16.1 million Americans who served in the war, 119,550 are still living.
