A Day of Infamy Remembered, A Soldier Honored

By Lora Scripps/The Leeds News

December 7, 1941, known as the day of infamy, is a date that has been etched in the mind of Ralph Tribble of Leeds for over six decades. Tribble, a United States radar crewman, was 21 years old and asleep in the barracks at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor on that day.

Twenty miles away, on the island of Oahu’s north shore, seven of Ralph’s comrades were working the graveyard shift at the Army Signal Corps radar station and keeping a constant eye on the distant skies.

Tribble said at 7:02 a.m. their radars started showing blips. One was a massive force of aircraft 93 miles north. They alerted the command post, but Tribble said his buddies were told not to worry. They were told they were American B-17’s.

However, at 7:50 a.m. Japanese warplanes bearing the rising sun on their wings were well over Pearl Harbor. They unleashed an unprecedented attack that killed 2,403 Americans, devastated the base, crippled the U.S. fleet and thrust the nation into World War II.

At 8:20 a.m. Hawaii time, a message arrived in Washington: “AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

The moments that followed included a commotion that Tribble said shook him out of his bed and put he and his comrades in direct heavy fire. Tribble and four other GIs ran for cover. Three ran left and two, including Tribble, ran right. Those who ran left met their end. Tribble and his fellow GI were spared by fate. It was a day Tribble would not forget, but has no desire to dwell on.

On October 28, 2009, the memory was still there, but the journey he took on Honor Flight Birmingham, a non-profit program, served as his chance to receive the homage so many veterans deserve.

Honor Flight Birmingham, a one-day trip with air transportation from Birmingham to Baltimore and back, is a flight that takes fellow WWII veterans to visit the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. A chartered bus then transports veterans around Baltimore and the nation’s capitol.

Last month, nearly 68 years from that dark day in Pearl Harbor, Tribble took part in the Honor Flight. He said over 160 veterans and guardians boarded the flight that morning bound for Maryland.

At 5:30 a.m. passengers met at the airport and by 7:30 a.m. they were in the skies. When the group landed, numerous civilians and servicemen greeted them. The veterans then traveled by bus across the Potomac River to the World War II Memorial. When they arrived, U.S. senators greeted them. It was a beautiful site.

“They treated us like kings,” he said. “Anything we needed, they had.” By mid-day, they were driving by the White House and taking in the sites before heading back to board the flight back to Birmingham. When they arrived home, they once again received a hero’s welcome.

Tribble said it was day that means a lot to him­-a trip of a lifetime and one that every veteran should have the chance to take.

Honor Flight Birmingham is a program that flies World War II veterans to Washington D.C. in honor of their service. The flight, tour and meals are provided at no cost to the veteran.

For more information on Honor Flight Birmingham visit

honorflightbirmingham.com

or contact (205) 714-3156.

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