Arnold Lappert
Sgt. who got last word from Corregidor
Arnold Lappert, the army radio technician in Pearl Harbor who received the last messages from the island of Corregidor in the Philippines before its surrender to the Japanese in May 1942 died June 1, 2007, in Daytona Beach, Fl. at age 86.
On May 5, 1942, Army Signal Corps operatorIrving Strobing from Brooklyn tapped the key to his radio to tell the last moments of resistance.
"General Wainwright is a right guy, and we are willing to go on for him, but shells were dropping all night, faster than hell. Damage terrific. Too much for the guys to take."
Arnold Lappert wept at this. He was stationed at Schofield Barracks when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and spent four years in the Pacific before returning home in October 1945. Irving Strobbing had returned home by then after three years as a prisoner. Lappert looked up Strobbing and they got together in January 1946.
Among the messages from Corregidor the last few hours was, "We are waiting for God only knows what. How about a chocolate soda." When the two met they were served a chocolate soda and each given a straw and drank together from the same glass.
Sorry to Be Losing the Greatest Generation.
June 8, 2007 Chicago Tribune "Sgt. who got last word from Corregidor" by NY Times News Service.
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