Honoring a local hero and others on that “date which will live in infamy”...
Members of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion Posts joined with members of the Lawrence D. “Bud” Anderson family (pictured above) near his gravesite (pictured below) at Mt. Olivet Cemetery outside of Waukon Monday, December 7, a date honored each year as Pearl Harbor Day after the Japanese attack on that U.S. Navy shipyard located on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii in 1941 - a day labeled by then U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as “a date which will live in infamy”. The gathering marked the date of that surprise attack that ultimately drew the United States into World War II, and also marked the date that 23-year-old
Waukon native Lawrence D. “Bud” Anderson lost his life as a U.S. Navy Ensign serving on the battleship USS Arizona, one of the more than 200 U.S. Naval vessels and eight battleships destroyed or damaged in the attack. The USS Arizona was one of two battleships that were completely destroyed and sunk by the attack, taking with it the lives of more than 1,000 sailors on board that were part of the more than 2,400 lives lost as a direct result of that attack.
The Monday, December 7 local ceremony was emceed by U.S. Navy Veteran Chuck Bloxham, who read the story of Lawrence D. Anderson written by another local U.S. Navy Veteran, the late Maury Gallagher, in his book “Veterans from the Heartland,” noting that Ensign Anderson had duty on board the ship that fateful December 7 day and could not go ashore with friends, only moments later becoming the first Allamakee County casualty of World War II as the attack played out. VFW District 9 Commander Virgil Thorstenson, who had organized Monday’s event, also addressed those in attendance, noting that, “Today, we are here to pay homage to those who paid the ultimate price for America’s greatness.” Thorstenson also said, “It is time to say thank you to the 2,403 (lives lost in the Pearl Harbor attack) for whom the beginning was also the end. We also say thank you to every man, woman and child who paid a price so that we might stand here today. We all share in the price paid to enjoy the freedom of today. As Veterans, we ask the nation to join us in recalling their sacrifices, their bravery and their commitment, but we also join together in joy for having served the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.” Photos submitted by KNEI Radio from the station’s video of the event that can be found for viewing on the radio station’s Facebook page.
