Work Continues On USS Oklahoma Memorial

Tuesday, October 9th 2007, 4:47 pm

By: News On 6

Work is underway on a memorial to honor the sailors and marines killed on the USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Several Green Country businesses have a big role in creating the memorial, which will be seen by many generations to come. News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports those businesses say it is a special honor to be involved in something so important and noble.

During the first ten minutes of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Oklahoma took a massive hit from nine torpedoes or bombs; 429 sailors and marines were killed. Ed Vezey was one of the survivors.

"These guys are all real. We got out and they didn't," Pearl Harbor survivor Ed Vezey said.

Now, nearly 66 years after the attack, a memorial to honor those fallen men on the USS Oklahoma will soon be finished.

"It's very emotional, but it's very meaningful because we've waited an awful long time, because most of these kids suffered terribly excruciating deaths," Paul Goodyear, Pearl Harbor survivor said.

Much of the work on the USS Oklahoma memorial is being done by several Tulsa area businesses. EuroCraft in Glenpool is making 429 marble columns, each engraved with the name of a victim killed on the USS Oklahoma.

The marble is cut, laminated, milled to the right thickness, and then shaped and polished. The last two weeks, they have added shifts, and worked 24 hours each day to meet their deadline.

"There's no option,â€ said Johann Skaftason of EuroCraft. â€œThe dedication is on the seventh and we need to be finished installing it probably a week before."

Another area company, Etched In Stone in Bixby, is also working on the project.

"The liberties that I enjoy today were paid for by people like that,â€ Jim Hartlep of Etched In Stone said. â€œSo it's very emotional.â€

The marble pieces will be shipped out in a week, and constructed at Pearl Harbor in November near where the USS Oklahoma went down. And soon the world will be able to see a long overdue tribute to those fallen heroes.

"I'm very proud of it, I'm very proud of it,â€ Goodyear said. â€œI think it's going to be the most beautiful monument in the world."

The USS Oklahoma memorial will be dedicated on the 66th anniversary of the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, Friday, December 7, 2007.

To learn more about the USS Oklahoma and the memorial, click here.

Watch the video: Local Businesses Have Hand In USS Oklahoma Memorial