Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Two USS Phoenix Survivors Returning to Pearl Harbor-- Part 1

From the December 3rd Victoria (Tx) Advocate.

Robert Kamenicky, 86, and Ben Russell, 87, were both on the cruiser USS Phoenix December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor, but didn't know each other until 40 years later. As a matter of fact, both served the duration of World War II aboard that ship with its crew of 1200, and even then, never met. Something you definitely would not expect.

According to Kamenicky, "Neither of us ran across each other. We just never did hang out together. He was on the fantail (stern of the ship) and I was on the bow." Forty years later, they met at the William R. Courtney Texas State Veterans Home in Temple

They, along with one other Pearl Harbor veteran in Mission are the last living survivors in Texas' seven veteran homes.

These two friends are attending the 69th observance of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii today. Their costs are being for by donations.

More to Come. --Cooter

No comments: