Veteran’s Day Ceremony To Highlight Story of Rye WWII Vets
The City of Rye and American Legion Post 128 will be hosting the local Veteran’s Day ceremony at Rye City Hall on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 10:30am. The ceremony is planned to be outdoors, weather depending, and will move indoors if necessary.
American Legion Post 128 Commander Fred de Barros will lead the ceremony. He will highlight the American Legion values of the importance of preserving our American traditions and values, improving the quality of life for our nation’s children, caring for veterans and their families, and most importantly, teaching the fundamentals of good citizenship.
Rye City Mayor Josh Cohn, County Executive George Latimer and Assemblyman Steve Otis are confirmed to deliver remarks. Robin Latimer will be the vocalist.
To personalize the Rye veterans’ experience, Legionnaires and members of the Rye Sons of American Legion will read the intertwined story of two Rye veterans, Charles Moxhay and Elliott Eakin who flew a B-17 together as members of the US Army Air Corps 8th Air Force in WWII. From RyeVets.org:
While waiting in Washington to be assigned a station, Charlie Moxhay ran into a fellow Rye High School graduate and friend, Elliot Eakin. The two were eventually stationed in Britain together, and Eakin was the pilot of the plane.
Lieut. Moxhay flew with Eakin on 30 missions and went on to say, “I can remember at least five times when Eakin saved my life” and called him a “superlative” pilot. Lt. Eakin himself praised their crew for its individual expertise that slot together easily, “we developed a smooth working team that brought us through many a rough spot.”
Both men survived the war and returned to Rye. They were the fortunate ones. Eighth Air Force airmen suffered the most casualties of any command in World War II – 26,000 were killed in action; another 28,000 became prisoners of war. Their valor was unparalleled. As the teenagers and young men of the Eighth battled the enemy at 25,000 feet, such bravery earned them 17 Medals of Honor, 220 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and more than 420,000 Air Medals.
