MOPH Participates in 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day
By MOPH Public Relations
On Wednesday, December 7, 2016, National Commander Hershel Gober led an official
delegation that included LAMOPH National President Terri Shattuck, Region VI Commander
Billy Weldon, Foundation Board Directors Bruce McKenty and Mary Lou Keener, and Hawaii
Aide-de-Camp Tommy Tanaka to the 75th Annual, joint US Navy and National Park Service
commemoration of Pearl Harbor Day. The official MOPH Delegation joined some 5,000 other
official guests that included Veteran Service Organizations, service members and military
families, Purple Heart recipients, and other distinguished guests at the Commemoration
Ceremony. Among the guests were about 50 Pearl Harbor survivors, including four of the five
remaining USS Arizona survivors, who gathered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to mark the
75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the United States into World War II.
Pearl Harbor Survivors at Ceremony
Taps for the Fallen
During the ceremony, a moment of silence was observed at 7:55 a.m., the exact moment of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Keynote speaker was Admiral Harry B. Harris,
Commander of the Pacific Command. In his remarks, Admiral Harris said, “You can bet that the
men and women we honor today — and those who died that fateful morning 75 years ago —
never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being
played;” words that brought the predominantly military crowd to a lengthy standing ovation.
The ceremony concluded with a “Walk of Honor” by the Pearl Harbor survivors through an
honor cordon of military service members and National Park Service men and women.
Immediately following the Commemoration, Commander Gober, President Shattuck, and other
delegation members visited the USS Arizona Memorial where they laid a special Purple Heart
wreath in remembrance of the more than 400,000 Americans who lost their lives during World
War II, especially the 2,400 who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. Out of a crew of 1,511
aboard the USS Arizona, only 334 survived. Each attendee at the Arizona Memorial was given
the name of one of the sailors entombed below, and then dropped a flower in their honor into the
water over the sunken ship. While at the USS Arizona Memorial, Commander Gober had the
opportunity to meet and talk with Hawaii Governor David Lge.
Commander Gober and President Shattuck Lay Wreath and Pay Respects at USS Arizona
In the evening, Commander Gober and other delegation members joined Patriots of the Chapters
on the Island of Oahu for a special Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemoration that began
with a welcoming ceremony at Fort DeRussy Park. The theme of the Pearl Harbor
Commemoration was "remembering our past and celebrating our future," and its purpose was to
honor and pay respect to the Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II Veterans, as well as active
duty military and their families, and veterans of all ages. The ceremony featured a number of
guest speakers, including a presentation by the Parade’s Grand Marshall, Gary Sinise, and
included music by a USMC band, accompanied by several high school bands that had traveled
from the mainland to participate in the day’s events.
MOPH Delegation in Park
Grand Marshall Gary Sinise
Following the ceremony in the Park, the Patriots and ladies marched in the Pearl Harbor
Memorial Parade which starts at the Park and winds its way approximately 1.5 miles along
Waikiki’s main thoroughfare, Kalakaua Avenue, with the festive scenery of Waikiki Beach
hotels, stores, and restaurants as the backdrop. Commander Gober and the other marchers
presented “Proud Supporter” pins to a few of the thousands of tourists and residents who clapped
and yelled “Thank You” and “Welcome Home” as the Purple Heart recipients passed by the
onlookers. The banner of each marching element in the parade was carried by several of the
more than 100 members of the “Young Marines” who traveled from across the country to Pearl
Harbor to honor the veterans in a very special way.
Patriot Weldon in Parade
Commander Gober gives Proud Supporter Pins
For the first time, the Purple Heart delegation was accompanied by a huge, helium filled Purple
Heart Balloon, and as the Purple Heart recipients passed the reviewing stand, the announcer read
the story of the history and purpose of the MOPH to the thunderous applause of the crowd.
Reflecting on the day’s events, Commander Gober noted, “I never felt so proud or honored as I
was by the cheering, clapping, and the reaction of the crowds as we walked along the parade
route. You couldn’t get that much spirit and patriotism in Washington, DC.”
Patriots Carry the Colors in the Parade
MOPH Trolley Rides in the Parade
On the day prior, Commander Gober and others paid a ship’s visit to the guided missile
destroyer, DDG-112, the USS Michael Murphy, which is home ported in Pearl Harbor. On 7
May 2008, Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter announced that DDG-112 would be named
in honor of LT Michael P. Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his
heroic actions during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. The ship was
christened on 7 May 2011, Murphy's birthday, by Maureen Murphy, Michael’s mother and the
ship’s official sponsor. Also at the christening was Patriot Dan Murphy, Michael’s father and
long-time National Judge Advocate for the Military Order of the Purple Heart. As the MOPH
delegation was piped aboard the ship, they were met by the CO, Commander Bob Heely.
During the visit, Commander Heely and every member of the crew demonstrated a unique pride
in being able to serve on the Michael Murphy and the esteem in which Michael and the entire
Murphy family was held. Throughout the ship and especially in the Ward rooms, mementos and
photos of LT Murphy and the other members of his SEAL Team were proudly displayed. As
Commander Gober visited the ship’s bridge, he was presented with a US Flag that had been
flown during the ship’s first deployment to the South Pacific.
In the afternoon, the MOPH delegation visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,
more commonly known as Punchbowl, where Commander Gober and President Shattuck laid a
Purple Heart wreath at the gravesite of Senator Daniel Inouye, himself a Medal of Honor and
Purple Heart recipient. There to greet Commander Gober was Gene Castagnetti, who had been
Director of the cemetery when Hershel was the Acting Secretary of the VA. It was the two of
them who had selected what would be the final resting place for Senator Inouye.
On Thursday, Commander Gober and the delegation visited the Defense POW/MIA Accounting
Activity (DPAA), at their new headquarters on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. A Joint Service
activity within the Department of Defense, DPAA’s mission is to account for Americans who are
listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action, from all past wars and conflicts. For
Commander Gober it was a special homecoming -- While the Deputy Secretary of VA, Gober
was sent to North Vietnam as a special emissary by President Clinton to negotiate an expansion
of the agreement that allowed the United States to search for its military personnel who were
Missing in Action. BG Mark Spindler, the current Director, personally briefed the group on
DPAA’s mission and functions and led them on a tour of the facilities, assisted by Mr. Johnny
Webb, Deputy to the Commander for Outreach and Communications. Mr. Webb has been
affiliated with DPAA since its inception as the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory,
Hawaii and held the position of Commander from 1982 through 1993 before retiring from
military service. Especially interesting during the tour was a briefing on identification means
and techniques by one of the Activity’s Forensic Anthropologists, who gave a riveting
explanation of the painstaking process of making a positive identification of human remains.
Briefing by DPAA Director BG Spindler
Demo of Identification Techniques
By the end of the three-day visit, Commander Gober stated, “It is important that the Military
Order of the Purple Heart be seen as an integral part of these ceremonies because of the
tremendous sacrifices made during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the sheer number of Purple
Heart Medals that resulted from that attack. As the Pearl Harbor Survivors leave us, the Military
Order of the Purple Heart has a solemn obligation to help keep their memory alive.”