December 29, 20178 yr #1 While I was looking for that ad in the Pearl Harbor Gram for the Pearl Harbor Survivor Association Ring, I ran across this advertisement for a Pearl Harbor Survivors Cane, of which I have three now. It was nice to find the advertisement for it. It's a beautiful cane. I've had some email exchange with Harold's son in the past and he believed that his father originally made a couple of hundred of these canes and that he only had about 50 left at the time. He said after those are gone, no more will be made.
December 29, 20178 yr Author #2 Pearl Harbor Survivors Cane Handle Type of Work: Art work Registration Number / Date: VAu000348479 / 1995-10-30 Date of Creation: 1995 Title: Pearl Harbor survivors cane handle. Description: Sculpture. Copyright Claimant: Harold M. Luvisch, 1919- Names: Harold M. Luvisch 1919-
December 29, 20178 yr Author #3 Marion Luvisch Harold was one of a kind…a special, funny man. He will be missed. He had many interests but the most important thing to him was getting the story of Pearl Harbor out to the public. He was in the Signal Corps in Hawaii when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. He was working on the radar boards that morning and saw the blips of the planes. The men were told that they were expecting planes from the states. The rest is history, but it made Harold passionate about keeping America alert. Harold loved being an inventor. Nothing made him as happy as his patent for his BUTT-UP cane. I do believe the invention was a little bit tongue in cheek. He will be missed by me, our six children and all who knew him. He died on January 3rd at the age of 84. ™
December 29, 20178 yr Author #4 Pearl Harbor Memorial Service Caption:398316 02: Survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor, (L-R) Elmer Laughlin, Abe Stein and Harold Luvisch pray at a Pearl Harbor memorial service December 7, 2001 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The ceremony was held at the Coast Guard Station at John U. Lloyd State Park in memory of the 2,388 Americans who died during the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor 60 years ago by the Japanese. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
December 29, 20178 yr Author #5 Remembering Pearl Harbor December 7, 1998|By MARIO ROSSILLI Staff Writer These days, Harold Luvisch, an artist and survivor of Pearl Harbor, crafts walking sticks as a tribute to the dwindling number of aging veterans who lived to tell about the surprise Japanese attack. ``I really feel like I'm keeping the spirit alive,'' said Luvisch, 79, of Delray Beach. It was 57 years ago, on Dec. 7, 1941, that Luvisch, a private in the Army Air Corp, saw the planes on a radar screen shortly before the bombing of the harbor in Oahu, HawaiiThe attack claimed the lives of more than 2,300 military personnel and civilians. The sinking of the USS Arizona alone accounted for 1,100. Seven other battleships were sunk or disabled and 165 U.S. aircraft destroyed. Today, survivors, many in their late 70s and 80s, tell their stories of sinking ships and dying friends over and over again, weaving together what has become a strong collective narrative that they hope will survive them and serve as a warning for generations to come. The message: ``Keep America alert and be prepared'' said Charles Haessig, of Fort Lauderdale. ``We're all getting old. We know it,'' said Haessig, 77, a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Hassing was aboard the USS Sacramento at the time of the attack. The stories, Haessig and survivors believe, will live on through their children who have formed the Sons & Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. ``If there wasn't an organization to carry on, people might forget what happened at Pearl Harbor,'' said Haessig's daughter, Mary Schiano. ``It could happen anywhere in the United States. It happened once. It could happen again.'' Items like Luvisch's walking stick, however, also help ensure history won't be forgotten, survivors say. ``It's a keepsake. You can pass it down to family after you're gone,'' Haessig said. To some survivors, many of whom suffer from age-related ailments, the walking stick seems an appropriate piece of memorabilia, a metaphor for the group of veterans as well as the nation. ``It's something to lean on,'' says Joseph Cybulski, of Coral Springs, an 85-year-old survivor. ``I have a few problems with my health and my walking, so I use it. This [the walking stick) represents what happened.'' Fixed atop each walking stick rests a brass American eagle clutching a bomb with its claws, the symbol of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. The symbol brings with it no fixed meaning. Rather, members bring with them their own meaning of why the eagle is grasping the bomb. ``They bombed us and we bombed them. Tit for tat,'' said Julius [Jay) Finnern, national secretary of the National Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Others, like Luvisch, see it as a symbol of military readiness in light of what happened at Pearl Harbor. ``The eagle is there, carrying a bomb. It means don't mess with us or you'll get bombed.'' About 13,000 military veterans are alive today, said Finnern, of Menomonee Falls, Wis. That figure, he said, is an educated guess. Some survivors don't belong to the association. The association has about 9,500 members, down from about 10,160 a year ago. Finnern receives about 40 death notices a month. About 800 survivors belong to the Florida chapter, said Luvisch, the state chairman.
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