Pearl Harbor survivor lends a hand

Retired Navy veteran Harold Aamolt, 95, of Portland visited his Westbrook friends Nelson and Susan Graham on Saturday and helped American Legion Post 62 place U.S. flags on veterans’ graves at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Aamolt survived the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He was a crewmember assigned to Navy Air Patrol Squadron VP-11 at Naval Air Station Kaneohe. His squadron lost all its aircraft in the attack and the fleet lost several battleships.

He was returning to the barracks after eating breakfast when the attack started. “They hit us first because they came in from the North,” Aamolt said.

Aamolt, then a seaman, was unarmed when an attacking plane swooped down right over his head. “If I had a big stick I could have knocked him down,” Aamolt said.

He and others were ordered into the squadron’s hangar where he sought refuge in a bomb shelter.

Aamolt said the squadron lost its 12 planes.

“They were all on fire,” Aamolt said. “They just burned.”

According to U.S. government figures, the attack left 2,388 Americans dead including 48 civilians and 1,178 wounded with 35 civilians.

After the attack, Aamolt drove a truck, hauling the wounded to medical attention.

A native of Montana, he wrote a letter home to his family that he was OK. “You couldn’t get near the telegraph,” he said.

Aamolt, who retired as a chief petty officer after 26 years, had joined the Navy in February of 1941. He was an aviation machinist’s mate assigned to VP-11 that September and had often flown on patrols. His monthly pay was $21.

In World War II, he was in several major sea battles and served aboard most of the aircraft carriers. Aamolt met most of the admirals including William “Bull” Halsey.

Aamolt has two children, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Today, Aamolt remains active and bowls each Wednesday on the same team as Nelson Graham.

Labbe to entertain seniors

Magician Dennis Labbe will perform for Westbrook Seniors Citizens after the group is served a meal at noon on Monday, May 18, in Westbrook Community Center, 426 Bridge St.

The menu includes pot roast, gravy, potatoes, carrots and strawberry shortcake. This will be the group’s final meeting until September.

Seniors will travel to Massachusetts on Sept. 23 to attend a Beach Boys show. In 2016, the seniors will go abroad to cruise the Danube River. But, the trip has limited availability. For more information, call 854-2705 or 883-5046.

Camp named to college committee

Dakin Camp, a junior television-radio major in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, has been selected to serve on the 2016 Senior Class Gift Committee.

By contributing to the Ithaca College Annual Fund through the Senior Class Gift Campaign, seniors continue the college’s tradition of providing a foundation for a lifetime of learning that fosters intellect, creativity and character in an active, student-centered learning community.

A survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Harold Ammolt, 95, of Portland Saturday helps place flags on veterans’ graves at Woodlawn Cemetery. Ammolt in the photo is flanked by Westbrook friends Nelson and Susan Graham of American Legion Post 62. Staff photo by Robert Lowell