One of the "Snowbirds" here in the park, George Blake, is one of the few remaining living survivors of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. George was a 19 year old soldier in the US Army stationed in Pearl at the time.
Last evening we, the residents of the park hosted a special surprise program to honor George. We announced it as an event to honor all of the former service men here in the park so little did he know that the main focus of the evening was for him. The Lake Havasu City VFW sent a color guard and the local newspaper sent a reporter to cover the event. We presented him with a special custom made shirt, photos, flowers for his wife, Helen and showed a short
video produced by Brenda Bauldic, a talented videographer here in the park. I wrote the following special
poem for the occasion and read it as part of the ceremony. At the conclusion we had all of the former servicemen stand and announce their branch and dates of service. We even have one resident, now living in Canada, who served in the British Army.
The program:
HONORING THE MILITARY PROGRAM
Havasu Falls RV Resort, Lake Havasu City, AZ
6:30 PM Honor Guard…….………....Don Dingman
Invocation & Pledge……….……........Carol Dingman
Introduction of George Blake.….…..Pat Schumacher
Presentation of Gifts to George Blake
Presentation of Flowers to Helen Blake
Poem: "Out of the West They Came"…....…Larry Page
Video Presentation………………........Brenda Bauldic
Conclusion………...…Recognition of past servicemen
Following the retiring of the colors we had a social hour with cake and ice-cream.