In Ljubuški, a monument to the hero of Pearl Harbor was unveiled.

In Ljubuški, on Thursday, a monument to Petar Herceg, who sacrificed his life to save dozens of fellow American sailors from the USS Utah during the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base Pearl Harbor in 1941, was unveiled in his hometown.

Herceg was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by the U.S. Congress for his courageous act.

Born in 1893 near Ljubuški, Herceg arrived in the United States at the age of 20. He participated in both World War I and World War II, holding the rank of a U.S. Navy non-commissioned officer.

During the Japanese attack on the U.S. military base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, he remained in the engine room to prevent the boilers of the USS Utah from exploding after being hit. By sacrificing his life, he bought enough time to save dozens of other sailors.

For this heroic feat, President Franklin D. Roosevelt posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor of the U.S. Congress shortly after the war.

The recognition was presented to his family in May 2006 when the aircraft carrier Enterprise was anchored in the port of Split. Petar Herceg’s medal is currently displayed in a gallery in Ljubuški.

The authorities of his hometown have erected a monument in his honor at the center.

“With today’s unveiling of the monument, we tell a story of courage and dedication. With this monument, after more than 100 years, we bring Petar back to his homeland,” said the Mayor of Ljubuški, Vedran Markotić.

Dragan Čović, the President of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HNS BiH), who laid flowers in front of the monument, emphasized that Croatians should be proud of Petar Herceg, who exemplified faith, strength, and the resilience of the Croatian people.

Representatives of the U.S. military and the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo were present at the unveiling of the monument to Petar Herceg, a work by sculptor Ilija Skočibušić.

Herceg je rođen 1893. nedaleko Ljubuškog, a u SAD je stigao kao 20-ogodišnjak. Sudjelovao je u Prvom, a zatim i Drugom svjetskom ratu. Bio je dočasnik mornarice SAD-a.

Prigodom japanskog napada na američku vojnu bazu Pearl Harbour na Havajima 7. prosinca 1941. ostao je u strojarnici kako ne bi eksplodirali kotlovi broda USS Utah, koji je počeo tonuti nakon što je pogođen. Time je, žrtvujući svoj život, dao dovoljno vremena da se spase desetine drugih mornara.

Za taj podvig predsjednik Franklin D. Roosevelt nedugo nakon rata posthumno ga je odlikovao Medaljom časti američkog Kongresa.

To priznanje njegovoj obitelji je uručeno u svibnju 2006., kada je nosač zrakoplova Enterprise bio usidren u splitskoj luci. Medalja Petra Hercega je danas izložena u galeriji u Ljubuškom. 

Vlasti njegova rodnoga grada u središtu su podigle spomenik njemu u čast.

“Današnjim otkrivanjem spomenika pričamo priču o hrabrosti i predanosti. Ovim spomenikom nakon više od 100 godina Petra vraćamo u njegov kraj”, rekao je gradonačelnik Ljubuškog Vedran Markotić.

Predsjednik HNS-a BiH Dragan Čović, koji je položio cvijeće ispred spomenika, istaknuo je kako Hrvati trebaju biti ponosni na Petra Hercega koji je na najbolji način posvjedočio vjeru, snagu i postojanost Hrvata.

Otkrivanju spomenika Petru Hercegu, djela kipara Ilije Skočibušića, nazočili su i predstavnici američke vojske te veleposlanstva SAD-a u Sarajevu.