Mr. Donald Ralph (left) presented the flag to Shannon Smoak as Mr. Black looks on.
BRANCHVILLE FFA SPONSORS “REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR DAY” ASSEMBLY PROGRAM FOR STUDENT BODY
BRANCHVILLE, SC…As part of its leadership building commitment, the Branchville High School FFA Chapter sponsored a patriotic program for the student body on Wednesday, December 6, 2006, to commemorate the 65 th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, which marked the beginning of World War II.
The program was held one day early to accommodate the schedule of the featured speaker, Master Sergeant Donald Ralph, 84, of Manning, SC, a Pearl Harbor survivor. Mr. Ralph is president of the South Carolina Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
Mr. Ralph, an FFA alumnus, captured the attention of the audience as he told of his experiences as a medical corpsman on that Sunday morning in Pearl Harbor which President Franklin D. Roosevelt called in his declaration of war....“a day that will live in infamy”. History came alive as Mr. Ralph shared how he and his colleagues at Pearl Harbor saw peace evaporate into war before they could react.
His most vivid memories were seeing his commanding officer in full battle gear, blowing a whistle to awaken him and his fellow soldiers and hearing him say “unless I am badly mistaken, we are at war”. He admitted that he was “scared to death” as he observed Japanese aircraft “about rooftop high” and could actually see the pilot’s teeth. The attack was the first ever on American soil and the most damaging on any military installation of the United States. More than 2400 men , women and children perished that day. There are 1777 men still honorably entombed in the US Arizona.
At the close of his remarks, Mr. Ralph presented a flag that recently flew over the US Arizona at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor along with a Certificate of Authenticity to FFA member Shannon Smoak, president of the Branchville High School Student Council, and Pat Black, Agri-Science Instructor and FFA Advisor at the school. The flag will fly over Branchville High School as a tribute to the bravery, valor and sacrifice of all Pearl Harbor veterans.
According to Mr. Black, the patriotic assembly was offered by the FFA chapter to remind students that America must always be prepared and that the price of freedom and liberty is eternal vigilance.
Mr. George Benton, principal of Branchville High School, was very complimentary of the impressive program.
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| The flag was displayed by FFA officer Katie Thompson (left); FFA member Kevin Carson, president of the Senior Class; Mr. Black; Mr. Ralph; FFA member Shannon Smoak, president of the Student Body; FFA Officer Brett Ardis and Benjamin Kinsey, president of the Branchville FFA Chapter. |
FFA member Kevin Carson (left), president of the Senior Class at Branchville; FFA member Brett Ardis; FFA member Shannon Smoak, president of the Student Body; and Benjamin Kinsey, president of the FFA chapter display folded flag. |