Members of the Camden Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 3238 honored World War II veterans in a low-key ceremony held Nov. 11 at the post headquarters.
There was no honor guard presenting the colors and the playing of Taps was a recording, but the emotions surrounding the day were just as intense as at other ceremonies throughout the nation.
The vets, most of who were barely out of high school when they joined the military in the late 1930s or early 1940s, now are more than 80 years of age. Some served only their tours of duty during the war, some remained in the military until retirement.
All were hailed as heroes by Post Commander Morris F. Arnett.
“This was a generation of men who put service before self,” Arnett told a group of about 50, gathered in the Post hall because of the inclement weather outside. “All of the memorials put up since have not done justice to the type of service they had.”
The former servicemen included Sgt. William Berryhill, U.S. Army, now of Camden; Master Sgt. James Ciliberti, U.S. Air Force, now of Smyrna; Col. Tom Dickey, U.S. Air Force, now of Dover; Mailman 3rd Class Harry W. Fillmore, U.S. Navy, now of Dover; Capt. William G. Fisher, U.S. Army, now of Dover; Chief Woody Knight, U.S. Navy, now of Wyoming; Sgt. Harold Row, U.S. Army, now of Dover; and Cpl. Robert Wagner, U.S. Army, now of Pickering Beach.
Each told a short story about his service; Dickey, a self-described son of a dairy farmer, said he joined up “because I had no love for cows.” But he did develop a love of flying. During the war, Dickey flew during the invasions of North Africa and Sicily, while Fisher told the group about serving in fighter squadrons in the United Kingdom. Fillmore, a navy reservist, spoke about his work on Navy refueling ships, noting he generally was far away from where the fighting took place.
“We didn’t really want to see the enemy, what with all that oil and gas down in the hold,” he said.
Approximately 16 million Americans served in uniform during World War II. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately 2.5 million war veterans remaining, although an estimated 900 of them die each day.
Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.
