On November 11, 2022 at 11:00am Bowfin Pearl Harbor Base SUBVETS conducted our annual Veterans Day Commemoration ceremony at the JBPHH Submarine Memorial.

Similar to the first commemoration ceremony in 1960 conducted by the Submarine Veterans of WWII, members of Bowfin SUBVETS placed leis on the 47 bronze plaques mounted on the wall.

Base Commander Paul Jurcsak opened the commemoration. Followed by the Parading of All 50 State Flags by the Radford High School JROTC and Boy Scout Troop 97, and the posting of colors by National Sojourners Inc. members Roy Ota and Dennis Egge. The National Anthem was performed Pacific Fleet Band, Harbor Brass Quintet led by MU2(SW) Michael Bookman Jr. Submarine Readiness Squadron 33 (formally, NSSC) Chaplain LT Jordan Dill, CHC, USN performed the invocation.

Base Commander Paul Jurcsak led the tolling of the bell for Submarines lost in WWII, while Rob Roberts, LT, USN (Ret) rank the bell. Led by Captain Mel R. Smith our keynote speaker.

This was followed by Special Lei Presentation by Dolores Brown for the USS Growler (SS 215) the “State Submarine of Hawaii,” and Wreath presentations by Bowfin Base, U.S. Submarine Veterans, Inc., Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association, U.S. Submarine League, Aloha Chapter and Pearl Harbor Submarine Officers’ Spouses Association.

Our distinguished guest Captain Mel R. Smith, Executive Assistant Commander USINDOPACOM, provided the keynote address.

We closed with the benediction by Chaplain Dill followed by a Three Gun Volley by the JBPHH Navy Honor Guard Detachment led by CTN2 Zachary Scarbro and the playing of Taps by MU2(SW) Michael Bookman Jr.

Following the ceremony Bowfin SUBVETS and invited guests moved to the Lockwood Lanai for a Texas BBQ lunch.

2022 Veterans Day Commemoration Photo Album

Originally known as Armistice Day. In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I, then known as “the Great War.” Commemorated in many countries as Armistice Day the following year, November 11th became a federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became legally known as Veterans Day dedicated to American veterans of all wars. There are an estimated 20 million living Veterans today, with approximately 100K in Hawaii.

Veterans Day is a time to honor not just those who have fought for us in battle, but all of the outstanding men and women who served in our nation’s armed forces since our founding 241 years ago.

Not all veterans have seen war, but a common bond that they all share is the oath, to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, an oath that expressed their willingness to die defending this great nation. An oath that everyone of them will keep even after exciting active service.
 
Perhaps, most significant in preserving our way of life and defending freedom, are the battles that America does not have to fight.
 
I believe President Ronald Reagan said it best…“We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.” 
 
We salute all our veterans who have made this great country possible.
 
God bless you, God bless Hawaii, and God bless America!