MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — It’s been more than 80 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. On Wednesday, a Tampa Bay area VFW, as well as two World War II veterans, came together to honor the lives lost.
If you ask Merle Shreffler how he feels, he’ll put it plainly.
“I feel like I’m 100 years old,” said Shreffler.
He’s 100 years young and was joined by a stranger turned friend, 101-year-old Dominic Parente.
“I think it’s a great thing to remember. Something not to forget,” said Parente.
On Wednesday, the pair of World War II veterans helped honor those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor 81 years ago.
“Why did they do it? I often wondered why in the world did they attack us,” said Shreffler.
VFW Post 4256 in Madeira Beach held a Pearl Harbor Day remembrance ceremony. Afterward, the group marched with flags up the John's Pass Bridge, where the two World War II vets tossed a wreath into the water below to honor the fallen.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our comrades don’t make it home,” said John Kieffer, the VFW Post 4256 Commander. “We want to always tell the stories of what they did, so as long as we tell that story and always remember them, they will never have died, if you will, in our eyes because they’re still with us.”
Kieffer said this ceremony had been on hold because of COVID-19 and that this was the first one they’ve had since the pandemic began.
“I remember it just as well as it was yesterday,” said Shreffler. “You can’t forget it.”
