Rockland Lawmakers Remember Pearl Harbor Survivor 'Chick' Galella

From the Rockland County Legislature

Rockland County Legislator Phil Soskin remembered Armando “Chick” Galella, a survivor of the vicious attack on the U.S. Naval Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, nearly 80 years ago, during last night’s Legislature meeting.

Galella died Wednesday at the age of 100 after being hospitalized with COVID-19 and developing pneumonia, according to a local news report.

Although he was born, raised and lived in North Tarrytown, now known as Sleepy Hollow, he was a fixture at the Village of Suffern Pearl River commemoration for years and became well known and admired in Rockland County.

“Chick Galella miraculously survived that horrible and devastating attack and he never forgot what he experienced and how fortunate he was to make it through,” Legislator Soskin said. “He also never forgot the 2,400-plus soldiers, sailors and airmen who were killed, including his own best friend.”

Legislator Soskin is an Army veteran who served from November 1956 to November 1958, mostly in France.

“Chick came almost every year to the Suffern commemoration of the attack, which I also attend, and he was always inspirational, reminding us of the steep price of freedom and the need to remember and to remain ever vigilant,” Legislator Soskin said. “He was a warm and wonderful person, and it was an honor to know him. I, like so many others, will miss him. May he rest in peace and may his memory always be a blessing.”

Galella was a private first class in the U.S. Army’s 53rd Signal Corps at Hickam Field, Hawaii, on the day of the Japanese attack. He spent five years in the Army, about four of them at war, and rose to become a battalion sergeant major by the time he left the service in 1945. He earned the Bronze Star on Okinawa for “heroic or meritorious achievement or service.”

He never forgot the attack at Pearl Harbor and made it his mission to inform others, including educating younger generations, about what had happened with his riveting eyewitness account.

The Legislature adjourned its meeting in meeting in his honor.

SEE: Community Mourns Armando 'Chick' Galella, Dead At 100