Two 101-year old World War II veterans stood tall Thursday to receive a commendation for their military service during the Rotary Club of York-North's annual Veterans Day program at the Four Points by Sheraton in Manchester Township. For one of the veterans, it was the first time he had ever attended an event for veterans.
Sandy Harper, of West Manchester Township, was “a nose gunner in a PBY airplane, that’s an airplane that lands on the water…,” said Dave Kopp, a Vietnam War veteran who was running the program. According to a newspaper clipping from the period about Harper, “He flew scout and dive bombers in the Polar Bear Squadron, the first Naval squadron to operate at night with P.T. boats, and is one of the four surviving members of the entire squadron. When the Unit dispersed, he flew with the New Zealand Squadron No. 5, and five months previous to his discharge was in charge of radio and radar operations in V-F 66th, First Naval Jet Propulsion squadron.”
Kemps Sterner, of West Manchester Township, served in the 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion for the U.S. Army, according to Kopp. Thursday’s event was the first “veterans event” Sterner had attended in his life, said Kopp, who is also his nephew. Kopp recently obtained Sterner’s honorable discharge papers and read them during the program, saying that his “decorations and citations (include): Silver Star medal, third-highest medal you can receive, good conduct medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, with five bronze stars and one bronze arrowhead.” Kopp describes the bronze arrowhead as “awarded to personnel who have been part of a combat parachute drop, a combat glider attack, a helicopter assault landing.” He adds that the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal means that Kemp served in several key battles in these regions for tank battles, “and our tanks back in the day weren’t the best tanks, by the way. The casualty rate was off the charts.” Kopp said that he asked Sterner how long he served and Sterner replied, “I don’t know, we went in and we got out when the war was over.” Kopp explained that soldiers didn’t serve time-limited tours during World War II; they got out when the war ended.
After the program, two young soldiers seasoned on the battlefield 80 years ago, passed each other with a long, double-handed shake and controlled smile of two men sharing an experience unknown to most in the room.
Individually, the World War II veterans don’t have much to say about their service. “For 12 years (I served) and they were great years … very memorable,” Harper said. Sterner preferred to reflect on life in the present, “I’m satisfied with my life, the way things have been going, my friends and my relations. I’m well pleased.” “You’ll never see that again, in the same room, in York County, we made history today,” Kopp said after the program ended and the crowd had thinned.