Connect with us

West Virginia

USS West Virginia sailor killed during Pearl Harbor attack to be buried in California, WVU to host annual ceremony – WV MetroNews

Published

on

USS West Virginia sailor killed during Pearl Harbor attack to be buried in California, WVU to host annual ceremony – WV MetroNews


MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A sailor killed serving on board the USS West Virginia during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor will be laid to rest on the same day a tribute will take place at the ship’s mast.

Navy Fireman 2nd Class William Kubinec

Ohio native and Navy Fireman 2nd Class William Kubinec will be buried Friday in the Northern California Veterans Cemetery shortly after the start of West Virginia University’s annual Pearl Harbor Day ceremony that will take place in Morgantown.

Kubinec’s relatives are expected to be in attendance for the California ceremony after his remains were identified as part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency program. Kubinec is remembered as someone who always put others ahead of himself.

Coming from a working family when times were hard, his niece Kathie Svoboda said one year when his family didn’t have a Christmas he asked the principal and was permission to take the school tree home.

Advertisement
The U.S.S. West Virginia

“The last day of school before Christmas vacation, he went to the principal if he could take the Christmas tree home to his family, because they didn’t have a Christmas tree,” said Kubinec’s niece Kathie Svoboda discussing her family’s memories of her uncle. “So he carried the tree home so his family could have a Christmas tree,” she said.

Kubinec was killed on the USS West Virginia when the battleship was struck by six torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was among 106 other sailors that died during the attack that resulted in the ship sinking on an even keel, leading to its eventual return to service. As a Navy fireman who worked on the mechanics of the ship even as it was sinking, Kubinec was among many who gave their lives to make sure their fellow seamen could survive, but also to give the ship a chance of still being salvageable.

“From what I understand, the guys working in the engine room controlled flooding, and they sacrificed themselves so it would go straight down,” said Svoboda. “And not list over into ships beside it or into the sailors who were flung into the water from the explosion,” she said.

The U.S.S. West Virginia mast standing in the center of the WVU campus today. PHOTO: WVU Photo

Kubinec will be buried at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery on Friday starting at 2 p.m.

The annual Pearl Harbor Day ceremony hosted at WVU will take place outside of Oglebay Hall, where the original mast and bell of the USS West Virginia are located. The event will be hosted by the WVU Center for Veteran, Military, and Family Programs, where they will be joined by keynote speaker retired U.S. Army Major George Davis and members of the WVU ROTC.

“He was commissioned as a military intelligence officer, and then he was selected to attend flight school,” said WVU Center for Veteran, Military, and Family Programs Director Penny Lipscomb, listing Davis’ accomplishments. “So he did a couple of tours in Vietnam, and then also he was stationed in the Pentagon for a couple of years and in Korea, where he flew along the DMZ,” she said.

Davis, who is currently the commander for Chapter 45 of the Disabled American Veterans in North Central West Virginia, will have his remarks followed by a traditional 21-gun salute that will be fired by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 548 and Post 9916. The USS West Virginia bell will also be rung to pay tribute to the 106 sailors who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. For those wishing to pay respects, it will be free to attend and will take place outside of Oglebay Hall rain or shine.

Advertisement

“I think we should all remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, I think it’s not done enough,” Lipscomb said.

The ceremony will take place on Friday starting at 10 a.m.



Source link

Advertisement

West Virginia

WV Celtic Festival and Highland Games

Published

on

WV Celtic Festival and Highland Games


The Inter-Mountain photo by Joe Blankenship
Clans march during the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games at 4-H Camp Pioneer Saturday.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Joe Blankenship
A bald eagle was on display during the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games at 4-H Camp Pioneer Saturday.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Joe Blankenship
A mythical creature turned up for the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games at 4-H Camp Pioneer Saturday.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Joe Blankenship
A bull was among the livestock on display during the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games at 4-H Camp Pioneer Saturday.

Advertisement

The Inter-Mountain photo by Joe Blankenship

Clans march during the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games at 4-H Camp Pioneer Saturday.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

West Virginia

WVDNR accepting applications for waterfowl hunt at McClintic WMA

Published

on

WVDNR accepting applications for waterfowl hunt at McClintic WMA


Community Bulletin

Fred W. Eberle Technical Center in Buckhannon is enrolling students in its commercial driver’s license (CDL) training program, an accelerated course that can be completed in five to seven weeks. Both daytime and limited evening sessions are available. Read more →

This story brought to you paywall-free, courtesy of the My Buckhannon team and our community partners

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced that it is accepting applications for a controlled waterfowl hunt, scheduled to take place October 3-11 at McClintic Wildlife Management Area near Point Pleasant in Mason County.

Advertisement

Waterfowl hunters who wish to participate must submit their application by 11:59 p.m. August 14 at WVhunt.com. Successful applicants will be notified by mail by the second week of September.

“Controlled hunts like this are an important part of our mission to manage wildlife resources responsibly, while also giving hunters access to high-quality hunting experiences,” said WVDNR Director Brett McMillion.

The event allows hunters to hunt from a shooting station in a controlled waterfowl hunting zone at McClintic WMA during the October split of the waterfowl season. Hunters who are successful in the lottery draw are assigned an area free of charge and are permitted to bring one guest. A shooting station is also available for hunters who have a disability.

Hunters successful in the draw will be randomly assigned a day to hunt. They must report to the McClintic WMA office prior to 6 a.m. that day. Applicants not selected may come to the McClintic office on the morning of each day’s hunt to sign up for an opportunity to hunt shooting stations not filled by selected hunters.

For more information, consult the West Virginia Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations, which will be available online at WVdnr.gov and at WVDNR offices by the end of August.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

West Virginia

The Moving Wall returns to West Virginia with stop in St. Albans this week – WV MetroNews

Published

on

The Moving Wall returns to West Virginia with stop in St. Albans this week – WV MetroNews


ST. ALBANS, W.Va – Kanawha Valley residents and visitors from around the state get the chance to pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War when The Moving Wall arrives in St. Albans this week.

The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located in Washington, DC, and it has been touring the United States for over 40 years to give Americans that may not be able to visit the memorial a chance to recognize those who lost their lives.

“The Moving Wall was put together in 1984 for the purpose of providing a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It’s about 250 feet long, about ten foot at the high point, and then slopesx down along both wings of the wall,” VFW Post 6418 Commander Jerry Mollohan said Tuesday on 580 Live with Dave Allen.

VFW Post 6418 is hosting The Moving Wall in St. Albans with public viewing beginning at noon on Thursday and continuing through Sunday. A ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the wall’s location at 1481 MacCorkle Avenue.

Advertisement

“It’s coming to us from a VFW post in North Carolina, and they’ll be in town tomorrow night, and they’ll bring the wall to the St. Albans Shopping Center,” Mollohan said.

West Virginia suffered the highest casualty rate per capita of any state during the Vietnam War and was among the states with the highest rate of volunteers for service. Mollohan said this is a chance for people with ties to those that served to reconnect with their history.

“There’s 388 West Virginians on the wall, and, of course, there’s over 58,000 total names on the wall. There’s just a lot of family and friends that are connected to those servicepeople that are on the wall,” he said.

Mollohan takes pride in VFW Post 6418 bringing The Moving Wall to West Virginia for the first time in recent memory. He wants residents to come out and learn more about the lives lost in service of the United States.

“The sacrifices that the country has made in all wars is high priority for our obligation to recognize the price of freedom,” he said.

Advertisement

VFW Post 6418 has more information about The Moving Wall at vfw6418.org.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending