Senator Flanagan Commemorates Pearl Harbor Day With Area Veterans

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) today joined with area veterans to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. Along with Assemblyman Steve Englebright (4th Assembly District), Senator Flanagan gathered with the veterans at the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in Centereach to recall that fateful day in 1941.

The two legislators were honored to be joined by Pearl Harbor survivors William Vatter and Howard Love.

Organized by Frank F. Belsito, Commander of the American Legion Pearl Harbor Memorial Post No. 1941, the ceremony was marked by a moment of silence and the playing of taps in memory of the more than 2,400 Americans who perished in the attack.

In 2005, following the suggestion of Commander Belsito, Senator Flanagan and Assemblyman Englebright dedicated thebridge in honor of those who served during Pearl Harbor Day.

Located at Nicoll’s Road and Middle Country Road, the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge is one of the most heavily trafficked in Suffolk County with an average volume of 116,000 vehicles a day. It was the bridge’s uniqueness that convinced all involved to push for the renaming of the bridge in honor of those who died in the Pearl Harbor attacks.

"As the years pass and the attack at Pearl Harbor recedes further into the past, it is vital that we continue to remember that day that changed the world," said Assemblyman Englebright. "The sacrifices and heroism of that day marked the entrance of our Country into a world war where many more would give themselves to protect the freedoms that define our Nation. As a part of our everyday life, the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge serves as an ongoing reminder of the dear price we have had to pay, and continue to pay, for our way of life."