Time out to honor veterans, especially one

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON - As a strong November wind whipped across the schoolyard, a proud group of local veterans exited William E. Norris Elementary School Wednesday afternoon, to be greeted by hundreds of smiling faces and a sea of miniature American flags gripped by some of the town's youngest residents.

Some of the 500 students on hand were cheering on their parents, others their grandparents, but all joined in to recognize area veterans who served their country.

The Norris School's Veterans Day celebration honored all veterans who served, are serving still, and those who died in the line of duty. But a special thank-you was reserved for local resident, U.S. Navy veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor Edward F. Borucki.

At Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Borucki was a yeoman clerk aboard the USS Helena, a cruiser that was among the ships torpedoed by Japanese fighter pilots.

As a handful of fifth-graders peeled back a layer of red, white and blue ribbons adorning the school's flagpole to reveal a commemorative plaque, Principal Bill Collins announced that it would forever be known as the Edward F. Borucki flagpole.

"The number of Pearl Harbor veterans who participated in that pivotal moment in American History gets fewer and fewer every year, so Norris students I ask you to etch indelibly in your minds that you were here today in the presence of Mr. Borucki, a true real-life American hero," Collins said. "Someday you will be able to tell your children and their children that you were here in the presence of a hero."

The flag flying atop the pole, which was a gift from the local American Legion, was ceremoniously taken down by a handful of students, folded and presented to Borucki, 89, who then took the podium to address the crowd.

After briefly describing what he experienced during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Borucki said he was proud to have defended his country and asked those in attendance to honor the 2,390 men who died that day and his brother, Walter, who died onboard the USS Ingraham in the North Atlantic in 1942.

"I'll be 90 years old on Nov. 20, and I will continue to do the job of remembering those who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor, and I salute the school for honoring all of our local veterans," Borucki said.

Also stepping to the podium was Navy veteran and fifth-grade teacher Joseph Moynihan, who reminded students that Veterans Day is a time to remember that freedom isn't free.

"I was out there, sometimes putting myself in harm's way, just as these gentleman and ladies who are beside me did, and we did that so a ceremony like this could happen," Moynihan said. "So across our country we could gather peacefully, speak our minds, live our lives and be free."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.