We must continue to honor and celebrate our veterans while they are still with us since they have given so much of themselves to us.
Actor Gary Sinise has ensured that all veterans know our appreciation for them.
On Wednesday, a lavish gala for World War II veterans was scheduled at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. For the celebration of the oldest living veteran of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, people lined up outside the venue waving flags.
The primary purpose of the celebration was to commemorate Californian Joseph Eskenazi, 105, of Redondo Beach. Eskenazi told the media, “It feels amazing.
The occasion was attended by Eskenazi’s great-grandson, who is now 5 years old, and great-granddaughter, who is 21 months old.
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Eskenazi, who will turn 105 on January 30, hopped on an Amtrak train in California on Friday to get to New Orleans for the celebration. Other Army, Navy, and Marines veterans also flew in for the occasion.
All this was made possible by the Soaring Valor Program of actor Gary Sinise, a nonprofit organization supporting military personnel and first responders. Veterans of World War II and their guardians can take trips to the museum with the program’s help.
Eskenazi was a first-class private in the Army at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. He recalls the incident, narrating how a bomb fell close to where he was resting but did not detonate, waking him up.
Gary Sinise Foundation via YouTube.com
He also remembered Schofield Barracks, which was shaking from blasts when Japanese bombs sank the battleship USS Arizona. The veteran recalled that despite the dust being stirred up by German machine gun fire around them, he offered to drive a bulldozer over a field so it might be cleaned and used as a runway.
Eskenazi recalled, “I don’t even know why my hand immediately went up when they asked for volunteers.” “No one else raised their hand because they knew that doing so would result in death. I acted inadvertently.
He was a military member at the Army’s Schofield Barracks when the attack on December 7, 1941, started and the United States entered the war. There were over 2,400 military fatalities.
Today at the museum, Eskenazi and other veterans posed for photos next to a variety of World War II planes and the Higgins boats, which were built with beach landings in mind.
Billy Hall, a veteran who joined the Marines in 1941 and advanced to the rank of major, thanked everyone for giving him a country worth fighting for.
What a privilege to take part in such a breathtaking occasion. We congratulate these veterans for their service and wish them a long, healthy life.
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