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“Dad, what happened to you at Pearl Harbor?’ The answer didn’t come,” said Dennis Bussey, retired U.S. Navy commander and keynote speaker at Lexington’s annual Veterans Day celebration Saturday.
“The subject was always diverted,” said Bussey in his address. “And I began to try to accept the reality that my father would go to his grave, and I would never know what happened to him at Pearl Harbor.”
In joining the Navy, Bussey was following in the footsteps of his father, who was serving on the battleship USS California in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
“Decades later, in 1984, the biggest professional achievement of my life, I was being promoted to commander in the Navy. ‘Dad, would you come to be with me? I want you to be the one that pins on my insignia when I’m promoted to commander.’ It was the grandest of moments for a father and son, an achievement, a victory,” he continued.
Bussey took this moment as an opportunity to once again ask his father to share his story.
‘“Dad, I have something I want you to do for me. I want you to tell me what happened to you at Pearl Harbor.’ He went stone cold silent. We continued to walk the several blocks to the office of Lieutenant Blundquist, the submarine based public affairs officer, with whom I had arranged a meeting.
“We were quickly escorted to a private office. Lt. Blundquist reached over and pressed a button on the tape recorder and turned it on. ‘I understand you were at Pearl Harbor, what can you tell us about that?’ It was the longest two minutes of my lifetime, as we sat there in silence,” Bussey recalled.
“Finally, my father said, ‘I, I remember. We had pancakes for breakfast.’ He spoke for 40 minutes. And when he finished, the three of us, the journalist, Lt. Blundquist and I, were in tears.”
The act of sharing his story opened Bussey’s father up to new opportunities and to new community.
“Dad’s story was published in a submarine-based newspaper the next week. It was Memorial Day. Soon after, dad got a license plate frame put on the front of his car. It said, ‘Pearl Harbor Survivor.’ Later, I attended three Pearl Harbor survivor conventions with my father, where there were banquets and stories, and comradery with others who were there on December the 7th, 1941,” said Bussey.
“When dad told his story, the weight was lifted, the pressure just released, and it was suddenly safer for him to talk about it.”
Bussey encouraged those gathered to do something similar for the veterans in their lives.
“Everyone here has a veteran in your life. A family member, a neighbor, perhaps someone that you barely know. What can you do for your veteran? Thank you for your service —say that, with sincerity,” he said.
“There is something else you can do for your veteran. Find a quiet place, without distractions, and when you both have lots of time, you can do what Lt. Blundquist did for my father. Say something like this: ‘I understand you were a veteran, what can you tell me about that?’” said Bussey. “Then, be silent, and listen. Really listen. It may be the best gift that veteran ever receives.” -This year’s Veterans Day event took place inside the Lexington Presbyterian Church, sponsored by the Lexington Woman’s Club.
“We are honored to honor all of our veterans today,” said Chris Head, current member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, who was just elected state senator for Virginia’s newly formed 3rd District.
“Thank you for your service, thank you for the great honor of allowing me to represent you, and thank you for allowing me to be here today,” he said.
Three wreaths, donated by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1499, the Lexington Woman’s Club, and Connections + Health and Hospice, were displayed in the church before being moved to Veterans Memorial in Courthouse Square after the ceremony.
Lexington Mayor Frank Friedman, another of the day’s speakers, said, “Friends, family, neighbors, Veterans Day is about honoring and thanking. We’re here today to honor those that have served our country, the men and women who have carried us to this point in time.
“Also we’re here to honor and to thank those who are currently serving in the Armed Forces, both here in our United States and around the globe. These men and women will lead us into the future,” said Friedman.
In addition to thanking veterans, Friedman also called attention to the sacrifices made by their families.
“Our thanks extends to the families of these brave women and men as they too make sacrifices in support of the freedoms we enjoy each and every day,” he said.
“I invite you to make a trip to Jordans Point Park in the near future, to visit Lexington’s Gold Star Memorial. While there, you can reflect on the service and sacrifices made by Drew Ross, Chase Prasnicki, and all Gold Star families in service to our country, for our freedom.”
