Nebraska’s Remaining Pearl Harbor Survivors Honored
September 28, 2016
On June 23, the only three known Pearl Harbor Survivors living in Nebraska met at the Heartland Veterans Memorial at South Park in Central City, Neb., for a reunion — to be honored for their service to their country.
Earl Brandes (95), Ed Guthrie (97) and Larry Osterbuhr (96) were longtime members of the Nebraska chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
Brandes served as the president of the organization for its last 10 years.
“It was a special group, the kind of group that grows on you the longer you’re associated with it,” says Brandes. “Our main theme was, ‘Remember Pearl Harbor.’”
During the ceremony at the Heartland Memorial, the three survivors were each presented with a medal commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack.
“I didn’t really expect anything like this,” Brandes says, “but it sure was meaningful to be with those guys again and to remember what we went through.”
This story originally appeared in The Central City Republican Nonpareil. Reprinted with permission.