World War II U.S. Navy vet, 97, honored at PH Center in New York

Arthur Grabiner, 97, participated in the American invasion of Lingayen Gulf in Northern Luzon and in the Battle of Okinawa. CONTRIBUTED

NEW YORK – To mark the Philippines’ Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan), decorated World War II U.S. Navy veteran Arthur Grabiner was honored at the Philippine Consulate for his service, sacrifice and valor in helping liberate the Filipino people from Imperial Japanese Military occupation during WW II.

The April 5 recognition ceremony was led by Consul General Senen Mangalile at Sentro Rizal of the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue. The ceremony honoring Grabiner, a lifelong New Yorker, coincides with the commemoration of the Fall of Bataan in the Philippines. He is a longtime resident of Flushing, Queens, New York.

Grabiner, as a teenager, participated in the American invasion of Lingayen Gulf in Northern Luzon and in the Battle of Okinawa.  He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Laurens APA153 in the Pacific Theater.

Among his numerous military honors, he was awarded one of his WW II Asiatic Pacific Medal Battle Stars plus the Philippine Liberation Ribbon 1 Star and Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for his participation in the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf. In 2019, he was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame.

Grabiner described a deadly attack by a Japanese kamikaze suicide aircraft on his U.S. Navy Task Unit in Philippine waters:

“Following stops on South Pacific islands including New Guinea and New Caledonia, our crew aboard the USS Laurens set sail for the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf in northern Luzon in the Philippines.  Late in the afternoon of January 12, 1945, the Laurens joined a convoy of ships comprising Task Unit 79.14.6 underway to the Philippines.

Arthur Grabiner as a young Navy officer in 1945. CONTRIBUTED

“At approximately 8:30 a.m. the following day, January 13, 1945, a Japanese kamikaze suicide aircraft attacked our task unit, missing the amphibious command ship, Mount Olympus AGC-8, and striking the USS Zeilin APA3, a sister attack transport ship, dead ahead of the Laurens.

“The right wing of the Japanese aircraft struck cargo loading equipment next to the Zeilin’s number 6 cargo hatch.  The kamikaze plane’s fuselage crashed into the starboard side of the Zeilin’s housetop.  Weapons carried by the aircraft exploded and started several fires on the ship.  Topside damage to the Zeilin was extensive.  The superstructure deck was destroyed, deck framing was damaged and several staterooms were destroyed.

“The suicide aircraft’s engine pierced the ship’s deck, the outboard bulkhead landed in a landing craft carried by the Zeilin. Seven crew members on the Zeilin, our sister ship in our task unit, were killed, three crew members were declared missing (presumably dead) and 30 crew members were wounded.”

Interviewed two years ago by the Jewish news site Forward.com, he described how he was looking forward to his 100^th birthday.

“I’m excitedly anticipating my 100th birthday. I’ll be surrounded by family including my children, grandchildren, perhaps great-grandchildren by then, friends and fellow WW II veterans. No one will tell me I can’t have a second slice of birthday cake… hey, it’s my 100th birthday celebration.”