Aurora veterans remember Pearl Harbor with prayer, toasts

Posted December 07, 2020 10:00 pm

Submitted by Al Benson

With a prayer and toasts, a dozen Aurora veterans held an informal Pearl Harbor memorial Monday, Dec. 7, the 79th anniversary of the surprise attack by Japan.

Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion Post 84 hosted the event at its 1 E. Benton St. office.

The memorial, sponsored by Navy League Aurora Council 247, replaced a 51st annual Pearl Harbor luncheon and 34th annual Ted Brattin Youth Awards ceremony, both canceled by the pandemic.

Navy League, a civilian organization, was founded by President Theodore Roosevelt to support the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and Sea Cadets.

Retired Col. Richard Todas of Aurora, Aurora Navy League president, emceed the memorial. He said, "Lesson learned (from Pearl Harbor) - be prepared."

Todas then led a prayer and toast to the more than 2,000 soldiers and sailors killed on Dec. 7, 1941.

A second toast, to fallen shipmates, was raised by Navy veteran Richard Miller of Aurora. The yeoman from 1944 to 1945 survived the sinking of the destroyer USS Drexler (DD-741).

The Sumner class ship sank in 49 minutes after being struck by two kamikaze planes in action off Okinawa on May 28, 1945. The attack left 158 Drexler crewmen dead and 52 wounded.

Miller, a Drexler lookout, recalled being among 199 survivors swimming or holding onto life rafts for several hours before being rescued by support ships on patrol.

In 1985, many Drexler survivors met for the first time for a reunion in Charleston, S.C.

After the war, Miller returned to Aurora where he attended Aurora College before serving as Aurora Post Office personnel director for 30 years.

Miller left East Aurora High School at age 17 to join the Navy.

According to Mike Eckburg, Post 84 commander, Miller chose the sea service because it had the shortest line at the post office where recruiting took place.

Miller recalled spending nine days in a boxcar to reach Navy boot camp at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. A recruit with him was Albert "Al" D. McCoy, who became Aurora mayor.

Veterans, from left, George Schmoll, Richard Todas and Mike Eckburg, all of Aurora, raise a toast to those who died in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Courtesy of Al Benson

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