The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
PEARL HARBOR REMEMBERED
Event that has become a tradition held at Hellriegel’s
Over the last six decades, a group has gathered at Hellriegel’s Inn in Painesville Township to commemorate the surprise Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor the morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, that thrust the U.S. into World War II.
That tradition continued, proving it’s alive and well, on Dec. 7, 2017, when hundreds turned out for the affair, despite the one of season’s first bouts with foul, wintry weather having commenced about an hour before the event began at 6 p.m.
Albert DiIorio, who owns and operates Hellriegel’s with partner Silvio Trifiletti — both of whom are Vietnam veterans — said he was pleased with attendance at what’s become one of the most cherished commemorative events in the area among its attendees.
“We have a pretty good turnout,” DiIorio said as salads were being served to the approximately 175 guests inside the venue’s banquet hall. “It looks like the weather’s going to affect it a little bit. And that’s true of normal dinner hours, when it is like it is outside tonight.”
Those who did brave
“They’ve all just been super,” he said. “And, well, honestly, I’m just proud to be included in their tradition." — Former U.S. Secret Service agent Paul Landis, who was the featured speaker at the Pearl Harbor event
the snow to make it were treated to the customary camaraderie that characterizes the event, which has been held on and off since 1965, organizers confirmed.
They also had the rare opportunity to be regaled by a participant in one of the most outstanding — and unfortunate — events of the 20th Century: Former U.S. Secret Service agent Paul Landis, who was assigned to first lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s security detail in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Before he spoke Dec. 7, Landis said he was humbled by the invitation to speak.
“They’ve had a lot of great speakers here in the past and I’m just a kid from Worthington,” he said as he finished his meal, adding how impressed he was with how the event’s organizers
decked out the banquet hall with military memorabilia, flags and various commemorative and historical accoutrements.
He also said he was impressed by the kindness everyone in attendance showed him.
“They’ve all just been super,” he said. “And, well, honestly, I’m just proud to be included in their tradition.”
Both DiIorio and Trifiletti said they’re proud to be able to continue the tradition, which began in 1965 as an informal gathering of area veterans, many of whom served during World War II and were deeply affected by the attack on Pearl Harbor.
By its second year — 1966, the point at which its charter was officially observed — organizers recruited a guest speaker. That year, it was U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Frank Cooper. Subsequent guests have ranged from famous military figures and legislators to Ohio State University’s Woody Hayes and — almost
- Bob Hope, who unfortunately had to send his regrets, organizers report.
The event grew over the years and continued through the mid-1990s, with a four-year hiatus after original Hellriegel’s Inn owner Bill Kochever, who established the tradition, died in 1995.
Trifiletti said he’s proud of the camaraderie the event nurtures, especially because he served during a war that was largely unpopular.
“I was in during the Vietnam era, and that wasn’t exactly a time when the public was necessarily proud of those who were in the military,” he said. “Back then, I actually felt like I was kind of an outcast.”
DiIorio, who was drafted the same day as Trifiletti, agreed that the camaraderie that the event fosters is priceless.
“Silvio and I started attending this in the mid-70s and it was a good to just get together with other veterans. We all had that in common and it was just good to be around others who had served,” he said during the 2016 Pearl Harbor Day Remembrance at Hellriegel’s,
On Dec. 7, 2017, Trifiletti added to the story.
“My father was a military
veteran of 24 years and he never saw me in uniform,” he said. “After I got out, we started to go to Hellriegel’s and my dad said that was the first time he ever saw me in uniform.”
He said the gathering helped him lose the chip on his shoulder he felt following his own service and the way society regarded Vietnam-era veterans.
“Now I feel proud,” he said. I feel like everyone here in uniform, they’re like my brothers — a real band of brothers, really. I feel a camaraderie with them and I know we all have something in common and I feel proud of it.”
Likewise, DiIorio said he relishes the communal atmosphere the event imparts.
“The veterans, they like this,” he said. “They get to come out, wear their uniforms, get together and share stories, share experiences that not everybody has had, no matter when they served.”
Two-time guest speaker Retired U.S. Army Col. Ed Horvath, who addressed the gathering from the podium in 2006 and in 2015, concurred, adding how impressed he is with the tradition the day has become.
“It’s really an impressive
tradition they’ve maintained over the years,” Horvath said. “It’s sad, time being what it is, that there are very few Pearl Harbor survivors left. I mean, that happened 76 years ago, so you do the math...”
He said those men and woman were “properly called the greatest generation,” considering the contributions they made to America in as humble a fashion as they did.
“And they asked for nothing in return,” he said, adding that’s true of military men and women in general, even today.
That’s something to which Hellriegel’s employee Jeannie Toth, who marked her 17th work anniversary there on Dec. 7, agrees with 100 percent.
“This is my favorite night,” she said from behind the bar in the banquet hall at Hellriegel’s. “It’s just such a respectful night. They’re all so friendly — just wonderful guys. I mean, so seldom am I called ma’am. It’s an honor for me to serve them. It really is.”
Both DiIorio and Trifiletti credit the folks behind the event, like the Lake County Veterans Service Commission, their staff at Hellriegel’s and everyone who volunteers each year, for its success.