Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Troutman | 150526-N-ON468-099 PEARL HARBOR (May 26, 2015) Carson Boron, granddaughter of Pearl...... read more read more
Subscribe
PEARL HARBOR – Sailors and family members honored Alec Boatman, a Pearl Harbor Survivor, during an ash-scattering ceremony May 27, at the USS Utah Memorial on Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Shipfitter 2nd Class Boatman had served aboard the battleship USS Tennessee (BB 43) at the time of the attacks. It was Boatman’s wish for his ashes to be returned to Pearl Harbor where many of his friends and shipmates lie at rest.
Approximately 40 members of the Boatman family, both immediate and distant, attended the service, venturing to Pearl Harbor from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Tokyo, to see that their loved one’s request honored.
“We couldn’t have asked for a nicer ceremony. It’s what my father would have truly wanted,” said Juda Carter, Boatman’s daughter. “Almost the entire family made the trip here for this, and I feel like my father was here with us, as we honored his memory and his service to our country. It emphasizes the importance of one’s family, and the impact my father had on the lives of our family members.”
The service began with a short speech by guest speaker, retired Master Chief Jim Taylor, who helped coordinate the service with Boatman’s family.
“Alec died an American hero, as well as a family hero,” Taylor told the attendees. “It was his greatest wish to make his final voyage back to Pearl Harbor so he could once again be with his shipmates – his brothers – who were killed that morning. And now, thanks to his family and the Navy, he served in, that wish is finally honored.”
Boatman received full military honors for his service from the Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Honors and Ceremonial Guard. Family members openly bid him farewell as they took turns scattering his ashes into the waters surrounding the memorial.
“It’s sad to say goodbye, but this family is so very blessed to be able to honor a man like my father,” said Alec’s daughter Jeanette Boatman. “I’m absolutely thrilled to see so many members of the family here today to say goodbye.”
Boatman joined the U.S. Navy in December 1940, and served until his medical discharge in 1944. During World War II, he took part in the pivotal invasions of Tarawa, Kwajalein, Makin, Apamama, Majuro and Eniwetok. He is survived by his four children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2015 22:13 |
| Story ID: | 164745 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 401 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Pearl Harbor survivor remembered, by PO1 Jeffrey Troutman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT