Veterans Breakfast and Tour Sponsored by the Monrovia Public Library

On Saturday, January 20, 2024, the Monrovia Public Library Veterans Resource Center sponsored a breakfast and tour at the Monrovia Historical Museum to honor our local veterans and their families. Council Member Dr. Tamala Kelly was there to show her support for the veterans. Mark Harvis, museum board Vice President, also a board member of the Public Library, was also in attendance, along with museum board members, Oliver Beckwith and Sharon Motheral.

The staff at the Veterans Resource Center (pictured) provided information for services available to veterans, and after a continental breakfast in the courtyard, welcome remarks by Mark Harvis, and was followed by a guided tour with Oliver Beckwith. He shared the story about the three Monrovians who paid the ultimate sacrifice at Pearl Harbor: 

Three Monrovians Who Were Killed At Pearl Harbor
Source: Richard Singer, People Like You and Me: A History of Monrovia in World War II, p. 11-13

These are their stories: 

• Sergeant Gerald Anglich was a gunner at Hickam Field Near Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes attacked the base. He was shot down by a Mitsubishi Zero as he ran to a machine gun emplacement. 
• Lieutenant Richard Rall was a Navy doctor, and he was treating wounded men aboard the USS Pennsylvania when an explosion killed him. Rall was highly regarded and in 1943 the Navy put his name on a destroyer escort. The USS Rall earned three battle stars in the war. On April 12, 1945 the USS Rall was attacked by five Kamikaze planes off the coast of Okinawa. 21 sailors died in the attack but the ship survived. 
• Navy Seaman 1st Class Dwight J. Orr was a 1940 graduate of Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte High School, and in 1941 he was assigned to the USS Arizona. A few minutes after the attack began a bomb penetrated the ship’s gunpowder storage and caused a massive explosion, killing more than 1100 men. Dwight Orr was one of those men. 

We, at the Monrovia Historical Museum, express our deep gratitude to all our veterans for their selfless service to our country and to the Public Library for hosting this memorable event. It was a great morning for a very good cause. Here's the link to the city's veterans resources website. To read more about the Monrovians who participated in World War II, check out the book, People Like You and Me: A History of Monrovia in World War II, written by Richard Singer, available for purchase at gift shop. ​

As a final note, did you know that 74 Monrovians gave their lives in World War II? A poster honoring these heroes can be viewed in our WWII exhibit (image below). 

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