U.S. Navy Veteran Holds Presentation at Troy Library for 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

TROY, MI — The 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor is upon us. On December 7, 1941 Japanese planes attacked the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, and the bombing killed over 2,000 Americans. In observance of this historical date, World War II history expert Larry Martin will hold a presentation at 1 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Troy Public Library, C&G Newspapers reports.

At “Remembering Pearl Harbor: 75 Years Later,” Martin will present WWII memorabilia, weapons, photos and scrapbooks for atteendees to look through. He'll also show a DVD interview that he conducted with WWII U.S. Navy veteran Werner Klemm.

Klemm was on the USS Dobbin at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. During the film, he discusses how he was in charge of going onto each ship to look for the dead for five days straight after Pearl Harbor. He ate only bologna sandwiches and got very little rest.

Klemm is one of 115 veterans Martin's interviewed on film over the course of 16 years, according to C&G Newspapers.

Martin is a retired firefighter from Jackson, Michigan, who also served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1970.

Since he was ten-years-old, Martin's had a passion for learning about WWII. He's interviewed many different veterans with unique stories —such as five women who served for the U.S., three veterans who served in the German forces, one veteran who served in the Russian forces.

Martin conducts the interviews simply out of general curiosity and to gain personal knowledge. To date, Martin's held over 80 presentations of his findings at various venues, and previous events at the Troy Library.

“He’s always drawn enthusiastic crowds and (is) great about getting other veterans to come in and share their experiences,” Dominic Scappaticci, adult services librarian, told C&G Newspapers.

You can register for the Troy Public Library program at troypl.org or by calling (248) 524-3542.

Photo courtesy of Paul Walsh/Flickr