LAKEPORT, Calif. – First-person accounts of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 were at the heart of Lake County's annual commemoration of that turning point in US history on Monday.

Monday marked the 74th anniversary of the attack, that killed more than 2,400 servicemembers and civilians, wounded more than 1,000 others, did serious damage to the US fleet and caused the United States to enter the second world war.

The event began at the foot of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Mast in Library Park, where the Lake County Military Funerals Honor Team fired a rifle volley and played “Taps.”

The ceremony then moved across the street to the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall.

Central to the annual commemoration is not just the attack – which propelled the United States into World War II long after many of the countries that would become its allies in the war already had entered the fray – but keeping alive the memories of the local residents who had witnessed it.

For more than a decade, Ronnie and Janeane Bogner have been involved with the association, offering support and organization for events, and friendship to the men and women of the association.

The Bogners have traveled with survivors to Pearl Harbor, hosted them at their home, thrown them birthday parties, and even been granted honorary survivor status.

As such, they've made it part of their goal to remember the legacy of service of the local association members and to honor those still among us.

Taking a seat again this year at the head of the event was Bill Slater, who served aboard the USS Pennsylvania. He was dressed in what has become the Pearl Harbor survivors' attire for such events: A Hawaiian shirt, white pants and a cap denoting his ship. He was joined by Alice Darrow, whose late husband, Dean, was aboard the USS West Virginia.

The storied band of local Pearl Harbor survivors has now been reduced to Slater, who at 91 still retains his sparkling-eyed wit, and who – as part of the local tradition – gets a bloody Mary from Ronnie Bogner at the start of the event.

Bogner qualified that the drink was weak, and Slater added that he's wobbly enough these days and so he doesn't need to be trying anything stronger. Sheriff Brian Martin, the event's guest speaker, joked that he would give Slater a ride home.

During his remarks, Martin – a veteran of the US Army – recounted the lives lost in the attack, which occurred on a Sunday morning as many men were planning to enjoy a relaxed day either at the base or on liberty on the island.

Martin said the United States is a patriotic and compassionate country, but will fight ferociously when it must, and that was the case in World War II.

“We are great because of people like Bill Slater and Alice Darrow, who answered the call to serve,” Martin said. As such, he said the country owes a obligation to those who served with dedication and honor.

The men and women who fought in the war brought to their effort dedication and professionalism, said Martin, noting his own gratitude to them.

Before having Slater and Darrow share their stories, Bogner recalled some of the notable experiences of other Lake County residents who had survived the attack, but have since died, with their names now engraved on a gold bell that is tolled annually in their memory.

Bogner recalled how that, at one point, Lake County's Pearl Harbor Survivors Chapter had been “way overrepresented” because of its large membership.

He said none of those men had considered themselves heroes. Most were men who came from humble backgrounds, did their duty during the war and came home to raise families and live normal lives.

Among them was Walter Urmann of Clearlake, who was aboard the destroyer USS Blue. Urmann had recounted over the years seeing a Japanese plane pass over and the pilot waving at him during the attack. Urmann died March 25, 2012, at age 88.

Clarence “Bud” Boner of Clearlake Oaks served aboard the battleship USS Tennessee. He and his family had owned a farm in Kansas, which they lost during the Great Depression. A short time later, a supply of natural gas was found on their land. Boner, coming from such an impoverished background, got into the Navy to find opportunity, Bogner said. Boner died Nov. 21, 2012, at age 90.

Jim Harris of Lucerne was aboard the destroyer tender USS Dobbin, known as the “admiral's barge.” He had turned 17 the month before the attack, by which pointed he had already been in the Navy for a a few years after having lied about his age.

Later in the South Pacific he would narrowly escape a hospital ahead of the Japanese, and in 1944 would find himself aboard the destroyer USS McCook at the D-Day landing at Normandy Beach. Bogner said he used to joke with Harris that he should either always play the lottery or never play it. Harris died Jan. 8, 2011, at age 86.

Other men who had come to make Lake County their home in the years after the attack included Fred Leighton, who served aboard the USS Ramsay and died in March 2008 at age 86; Clearlake Oaks resident Chuck Bower, 87, who served at the US Sub Base, died Nov. 12, 2010; and Floyd Eddy, 85, of Kelseyville, who served aboard the mine sweeper USS Trever, died in May 2011.

Henry Anderson of Lakeport served aboard the battleship USS Tennessee. Bogner had arranged several years ago for Anderson and Slater to share a toast – reminiscent of that shared by the last two members of Doolittle's Raiders – for being the last survivors. Anderson died on Jan. 6, 2014, at age 95.

The real heroes

Slater, who noted that “Old Father Time has done a pretty good job on me,” said he gets “too damned emotional” talking about Pearl Harbor.

He recalled having to go below deck to retrieve shells for the Pennsylvania' 3-inch anti-aircraft gun he was helping operate, as the lift wasn't working. Had he still been standing on deck, Slater said he would have been hit by the bomb that landed on the ship.

Trying to get started shooting at the Japanese planes was further hampered by the fact that the ammunition was locked up and the sailor who set the fuses wasn't there. Still, Slater and his fellow sailors managed to start returning fire.

“The smaller guns have a hell of a crack to them,” he said, explaining that the larger guns on the ships roared.

“I know one thing for sure – we owe a hell of a debt to all of the guys who are no longer with us,” said Slater. “They're the real heroes.”

In 1941, young Alice Beck graduated with her nursing degree and, after reviewing all of the branches of the serving that were recruiting, settled on the US Navy.

“They were the cutest,” Alice Darrow recounted at the Monday event.

She served at a medical facility at Mare Island, where a lot of sailors who had been at Pearl Harbor and in the South Pacific were brought for treatment.

Darrow recalled the young men as being the best patients. They were good-natured, did what they were told, and always had a joke and a smile.

She said she and her colleagues at the facility had been trained to be ready for the possibility of a Japanese attack on the West Coast.

In 1939, Wisconsin native Dean Darrow joined the Navy and arrived at Pearl Harbor two years later aboard the USS West Virginia.

On the day of the attack, Darrow had planned to go on liberty into nearby Honolulu, where he was going to see a show, have some lunch and go down and watch girls at the beach, Alice Darrow said.

He was getting dressed when the attack started. He ran to his station and, like Slater had, found the ammunition was locked up, his widow said.

Dean Darrow watched the USS Arizona blow up, saw the USS Oklahoma roll over and was blown from the deck of the West Virginia when it took one of its seven hits. He landed in the water, which had a burning layer of oil on the surface.

He was able to swim underneath the burning oil, and as he was being pulled into a boat, Japanese planes strafed the water and he was hit by a bullet, which went through his back and lodged in his heart. It would be months, however, before doctors found out the source of his fainting spells and side pain.

Dean Darrow was transferred to Mare Island, where in early 1942 he underwent heart surgery, then a procedure that still had been done only rarely. Before he went into surgery, he got Nurse Beck – who was nicknamed “Becky” – to agree to go on liberty with him if he survived.

He did, they later went on their first date in San Francisco, and were married after both were discharged from the Navy. He died Dec. 22, 1991, shortly before their 50th wedding anniversary.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The community is invited to take part in the annual commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Monday, Dec. 7.

Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North, will host the ceremony, which will be held from 9 to 9:15 a.m. at Library Park and 9:15 to 10 a.m. in the council chambers across the street at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

This year marks the 74th anniversary of the attack, in which the Empire of Japan targeted the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor on an early Sunday morning in December 1941.

More than 2,400 members of the United States military died in the attack, which led to Congress voting the following day to enter World War II.

On Monday, Lake County's last living Pearl Harbor survivor, Bill Slater of Lakeport, is anticipated to be in attendance.

At the time of the attack, Slater was a 17-year-old sailor aboard the USS Pennsylvania.

Also expected to be on hand for the event is Alice Darrow, one of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association's “sweethearts” – the name for widows of attack survivors. Her husband, Dean Darrow, was aboard the USS West Virginia. Dean Darrow died in 1991.

The guest speaker at the Monday ceremony will be Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin, a US Army veteran.

The Lake County Military Honors Team will take part in the ceremony, and the Mendo-Lake Singers Sweet Adelines will sing the national anthem. 

The annual commemoration is organized by Ronnie and Janeane Bogner of Clearlake Oaks, who have been involved with the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association since 2002.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Farm Bureau and Redwood Credit Union Community Fund are offering help to Valley fire survivors who are getting started on rebuilding fences for livestock and large animals.

The Farm Bureau is disbursing $100,000 made available by the Redwood Credit Union, according to Farm Bureau Executive Director Brenna Sullivan.

Robin McKenzie, senior vice president of marketing and communications for Redwood Credit Union, said the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund Inc. has allocated the money from the Lake County Fire Victims Relief Fund.

That fund – which is a partnership of the credit union, state Sen. Mike McGuire's office and the Press Democrat – has raised $2.2 million from more than 12,000 donors, McKenzie said.

Sullivan said the fencing funds are given out in $1,000 increments via gift cards that can be used at Lake County businesses.

She said the goal is to not only help local fire survivors and their animals get back home but for the funds to stay local and benefit the business community as well.

As of Monday, Sullivan said they had approved 46 applications for a total of $46,000, with another 10 applicants now under consideration.

“We're in the process of evaluating if the full amount is going to be needed,” Sullivan said of the fund. “I suspect that it is and people are in all different stages of recovering.”

She said she believes some people haven't even gotten to the point of assessing their needs in the wake of the destructive fire, which burned more than 76,000 acres and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures, including more than 1,300 homes, from Sept. 12 to Oct. 6.

“The scale and scope of what has been lost is just enormous,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, herself a horsewoman, said $1,000 may not go terribly far when it comes to rebuilding fencing that has been built up over years. One survivor got a bid of $90,000 to rebuild their lost fencing.

However, she said it's a start to get people back on their feet and help them secure their large animals and livestock.

She put together a committee that is helping review applications, with assistance from Lake County Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson.

Assistance is open to those who don't have insurance as well as those who do, she said.

She said the future of the fund is open-ended, with the possibility that more funds may be made available if a need is demonstrated.

She said Redwood Credit Union has been “really amazing” in the help it has offered to fire survivors in the recovery process.

Sullivan said the ranching community – primarily located in the south county – has been heavily impacted not just by the Valley but also by the Rocky and Jerusalem fires earlier in the summer.

Also hit hard was the large equestrian community in and around Middletown, Sullivan said.

In terms of animal density and population, the Valley fire “probably went through the worst area” that it could have, said Sullivan.

In the initial weeks of the fire, Sullivan estimated she was fielding about 70 calls a day about a variety of needs including hay donations, which she channeled through Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue, or SAFER, which continues to offer assistance to fire survivors.

SAFER member Carleene Cady of Lakeport stepped up and has been overseeing the local disbursement of help for livestock and horse owners, as Lake County News has reported. She can be reached at 707-349-1993 by those who still require assistance.

“She's done an incredible job with it,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan said that along with their barns and fencing, people lost tack and equipment that had been built up over time. Fencing and shelters, she noted, are just a small part of the infrastructure it takes to raise, keep and care for animals, especially the larger ones.

Anecdotally, she's hearing about a lot of people who may be deciding to leave the area rather than staying and rebuilding.

“It's going to be interesting to see who ends up rebuilding,” she said. “I don't think any of us can predict that right now.”

The application for fencing assistance can be downloaded from the Lake County Farm Bureau Web site, www.lakecofb.com , filled out and mailed to the Farm Bureau at 65 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport, CA 95453; faxed to 707-263-1101; or emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Sullivan said it's hoped the assistance will help people get back on their feet and care for their livestock and animals.

“That's really important to a lot of people,” she said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North, Lake County, will observe the 74th anniversary of the attack of Pearl Harbor on Monday, Dec. 7.

The ceremony will be held from 9 to 9:15 a.m. at Library Park and 9:15 to 10 a.m. in Lakeport City Council Chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

Guest speaker is Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin. 

Military ceremonies will be performed by the Lake County Military Honors Team.

Mendo-Lake Singers Sweet Adelines will sing our national anthem. 

After the ceremony the public is welcome to attend the annual luncheon at the Boathouse Restaurant & Bar, 2685 Lakeshore Blvd., Nice. The no-host luncheon will start at noon.

Reservations for the lunch are requested by Dec. 1 by calling Janeane Bogner at 707-998-3280.