HONESDALE, PA —  For Wayne Memorial Hospital, recognizing Pearl Harbor Day is a must-do. The hospital has acknowledged the sacrifices made by veterans for over 100 years, and is home to three dedication markers honoring those who served.

The oldest plaque dates to the very early days of the hospital, and pays homage to those from Wayne County who died in World War I.

In September 1995, on the hospital’s 75th anniversary, a re-dedication monument was erected to those from Wayne and Pike counties who gave their lives in service to the country in wars and conflicts from World War I to the present.

On the hospital’s centennial, on Memorial Day 2020, a third memorial plaque was placed and re-dedicated, this time to all who have served the country in the United States Armed Forces.

This year, the hospital laid a wreath at the site of the original plaque on December 7. In his opening remarks, James Pettinato, Wayne Memorial Hospital CEO, introduced Hugh Rechner, the board chair of Wayne Memorial Hospital and its health system. Rechner served as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, with two tours of duty in Viet Nam.

Rechner quoted President Franklin Roosevelt’s remarks to Congress on December 8, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, HI, marking December 7, 1941 “a date that will live in infamy.”

Rechner continued, “The attack without a declaration of war and without a warning was particularly deadly, onerous and later judged in the Tokyo trials to be a war crime. And the four-or-so years that followed brought virtually the entire globe into a bloody conflict, with unimaginable loss of life and destruction of infrastructure. And it finally ended with the first use of an atomic weapon.”

Rechner thanked the members of Hogencamp/Schupper VFW Post 531 and the Major David McKelvey Peterson American Legion Post 254 for their participation in the day’s remembrance. He also pointed out that Peterson and Millard Hogencamp are two of the 55 Wayne County veterans memorialized on the original dedication plaque at the hospital.

Rev. Dale Pepper, VFW Post 531, and James Bruck, American Legion Post 254, teamed up to tell the somber story of the attack on December 7, 1941, where some 2,400 U.S. military and civilians lost their lives. The following day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war against Japan.

Those assembled for the ceremony were directed to take a short walk to the site of the original dedication tablet, where a wreath was placed, a prayer offered, and taps was played. Pettinato’s closing remarks recalled President Lincoln, saying that speeches and statues are not adequate repayment for service in defense of one’s country. “And though one day of remembrance is not enough for what our troops withstood at Pearl Harbor, we are nonetheless compelled to remember them and respect their memory. We honor them as Americans committed to their families their fellow servicemen and women, and their country,” he said.