By Colleen Pierson
WKTV Community Contributor
This December, the Grand Rapids Chapter of Sweet Adelines will be singing to honor those who lost their lives 80 years ago during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The West Michigan based group, under the direction of Master Director Denise VanDyken, was the only musical singing group from Michigan to be chosen to perform at the 80th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Commemoration Concerts Series in Hawaii set for Dec. 7, 2021.
“We are thrilled to be part of this historic event,” VanDyken said. “A once in a lifetime experience, it will be very emotional and such an honor to perform.”
The performance also helps mark a special anniversary for the 60-member chorus.
“Our chorus is one of the longest running barbershop singing groups in the world,” she said. “We just celebrated our 70th anniversary. To be named as the official representatives of the state of Michigan to sing at the Pearl Harbor 80th Anniversary Commemoration is indeed a true hour.”
The Grand Rapids Chapter of Sweet Adelines is one of 10 nationwide chorus groups to be featured in this historic commemoration to honor America’s heroes who fought on the “date which will live in infamy.,” as so coined by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the base on Dec. 7, 1941 was what pulled America into World War II. Eight American battleships sank at Pearl Harbor with 188 American aircraft destroyed. Around 2,403 Americans died in the attack and another 1,178 were injured.
Of the eight battleships, only two were never repaired or returned to duty: the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma. The USS Arizona still lies in the Pearl Harbor waters. As part of its commemorative activities, the Sweet Adelines will take part in an Official Military Wreath-laying Ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial and an Official Flag-Folding Ceremony at the USS Missouri Memorial. The USS Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the United States and is best remember as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, which ended World War II. The USS Missouri was retired to Pearl Harbor in the late 1990s.
The opportunity to perform at the 80th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Commemoration Concerts Series is just one of many accolades the award-winning group has received in the past few years. In 2019, the Sweet Adelines Grand Rapids was named fifth in the world at the Sweet Adelines International’s Harmony Class Competition.
For more about the Sweet Adelines Grand Rapids or to join the group, visit their website, www.grsa.net. To see a sneak peek of the group’s performance check out WKTV Channel 25 at 7:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. and WKTV Channel 26 6:30 and 9:30 p.m., all of which air on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, or head over WKTV’s on-demand.
