American Airpower Museum commemorates Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack with rose drop

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Eighty-three red roses laid on a table at the American Airpower Museum in East Farmingdale on Saturday morning, each marking a year since the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.

The roses, along with a single white rose to memorialize the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, were passed to a flight crew on a World War II-era T-6 Texan airplane that would fly from Republic Airport to the Statue of Liberty, where the roses would be dropped — continuing a decades-old tradition first started by Joseph Hydrusko, a Long Island Navy medic who sprung into action and is credited with saving countless lives as Japan attacked the U.S. fleet, Long Island Air Force Association officials said.

"Pearl Harbor Day was a tragedy in America’s history. It dragged us into World War II and also a lot of lives were lost," said Mike Brockey, 55, of Syosset, who flew the plane on Saturday and served two decades in the Air Force. "It’s an emotional event for everybody."

Retired Col. Bill Stratemeier, treasurer of the Long Island chapter of the Air Force Association and an organizer of the event, said Hydrusko, who was aboard the hospital ship USS Solace when the attack began, commandeered a launch and pulled sailors out of the water.

In 1971, using his own plane, Hydrusko started dropping roses over the Statue of Liberty — one for each year since the attack. After his plane's cockpit caught fire while on the ground in 1983, causing his death, the Skytypers aviation group and the Air Force Association carried on the tradition.

"We got to do everything we can to keep reminding people of the sacrifice and the hardship and the bloodshed to protect the freedoms that we take for granted today," Stratemeier said.

Hydrusko’s nephew, Jerry Hydrusko, 69, of New Jersey, was among family members who came to the East Farmingdale ceremony to see the tradition continue.

"He was a very giving person and he wanted to give back," Jerry Hydrusko said of his uncle’s tribute. "It was important for him to preserve the moment.

"We will see this continue for many, many generations," he said.

Before the flowers were taken on the roughly 20-minute flight to the waters off Manhattan, officials recognized the veterans — both living and deceased — of America’s foreign wars.

Jeff Clyman, president of the American Airpower Museum, said the organization’s mission was "to preserve America’s legacy, history, and to keep memories alive that have somehow withered in the storm of current-day education."

A recent survey of 350 Long Island high school students conducted by the Long Island Council for the Social Studies and The Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage found just over half knew the attack on Pearl Harbor prompted the United States to join World War II. Just 19 Pearl Harbor survivors remain, Newsday reported.

That dearth of knowledge among younger people, according to veterans at Saturday’s event, raises the importance of continuing traditions like the "dropping of the roses" and passing those duties on to the next generation.

Michael O’Leary, a U.S. Navy Vietnam War veteran who carried the roses on the annual flight on Saturday, said the passage of time only increased the importance of keeping the memory of those who served alive.

"These are the real heroes," O’Leary said, referring to the World War II veterans.

Helen Beitter, 100, of East Meadow, an Army veteran who worked on the Manhattan Project, said fewer and fewer veterans attended memorial events each year. She fears the younger generations are losing connection with World War II.

"They forgot about it," she said.

Aiden Quinn, 14, of Lindenhurst, is a member of the Civil Air Patrol, a leadership nonprofit and auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Alongside members of Long Island’s Civil Air Patrol Squadron 288, he says he feels a personal responsibility to continue the legacy of events like the dropping of the roses.

"I feel like it’s our job as the Civil Air Patrol and the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force to keep these things going so people don’t forget," Aiden said.

"They’re heroes, they did their job," Aiden said. "They’re the reason our country is the way it is today."

Eighty-three red roses laid on a table at the American Airpower Museum in East Farmingdale on Saturday morning, each marking a year since the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.

The roses, along with a single white rose to memorialize the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, were passed to a flight crew on a World War II-era T-6 Texan airplane that would fly from Republic Airport to the Statue of Liberty, where the roses would be dropped — continuing a decades-old tradition first started by Joseph Hydrusko, a Long Island Navy medic who sprung into action and is credited with saving countless lives as Japan attacked the U.S. fleet, Long Island Air Force Association officials said.

"Pearl Harbor Day was a tragedy in America’s history. It dragged us into World War II and also a lot of lives were lost," said Mike Brockey, 55, of Syosset, who flew the plane on Saturday and served two decades in the Air Force. "It’s an emotional event for everybody."

Retired Col. Bill Stratemeier, treasurer of the Long Island chapter of the Air Force Association and an organizer of the event, said Hydrusko, who was aboard the hospital ship USS Solace when the attack began, commandeered a launch and pulled sailors out of the water.

Ralph Esposito, director of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, presents a proclamation to Frank Agoglia, 101, an Army veteran of D-Day, during a Pearl Harbor memorial event at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale on Saturday. Credit: Rick Kopstein