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This year, Pace Reunion welcomed a very special guest: Arthur Grabiner �鶹��ý�50, who attended the annual Golden Graduates Luncheon to celebrate his 75th anniversary reunion.

The extraordinary milestone is one of several for Arthur in 2025. As a decorated veteran of the Pacific Theater of World War II, Arthur celebrated 79 years since his Honorable Discharge from the United States Navy in May. In the preceding month of April, he was awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, for his exemplary patriotism and contribution to American history. At an age of �鶹��ý�99-years-young,�鶹��ý� Arthur looks forward to his 100th birthday in December.

For Arthur, age is truly but a number. He continues to remain active and engaged, routinely making public appearances�鶹��ý�including as an honored guest of this year�鶹��ý�s Pace commencement ceremonies. Arthur also frequently makes time to speak at a variety of historical and educational events, demonstrating his tireless sense of duty to sharing experiences and insights from his service with younger people. In recognition of Arthur's valiant World War II US Navy service and dedication to educating and inspiring younger generations, he was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans' Hall of Fame during a 2019 ceremony in the New York State Capitol in Albany.

Arthur�鶹��ý�s story reminds us of the sacrifices made by so many to ensure a better future for us all, the capacity we each possess to inspire and stir the hearts of others, and the profound, lasting impact of a Pace education. Arthur graciously shared some reflections with us which we publish below, in his own words.

Q&A

As you celebrate your milestone 75th reunion, how do you reflect on your time at �鶹��ý�鶹��ý�then Pace College?

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Following the Allied victory in World War II (WWII) and the Allied occupation of Japan, I received my Honorable Discharge from the US Navy in May of 1946... 79 years ago. Anxious to further my education, I enrolled in what was then known as Pace Institute, under the GI Bill, in February of 1947.

I attended classes inside the Transportation Building at 225 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Interestingly, the Wikipedia entry for "Transportation Building (Manhattan)" includes the following: "One of the first tenants of the Transportation Building was the Pace Institute�鶹��ý�the predecessor of the school that is now �鶹��ý�鶹��ý�which moved into the building in 1927 and remained until the 1950s."

All of my fellow classmates at Pace, like me, were returning WWII veterans. Some of our faculty, too, were WWII veterans. Given that 225 Broadway was an office building, Pace students were obligated to wear a dress shirt and tie to class. Upon exiting the subway in Lower Manhattan, after traveling from my family's home in the Bronx, I put on a bowtie before entering 225 Broadway. Following class and immediately after exiting the building, I removed my bowtie.

While I was studying at Pace, the institute was elevated to college status, and became known as Pace College. I attended classes year-round, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in three years. As a graduating member of the Pace College Class of 1950, our commencement took place inside the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. For my yearbook photo in "The Legend 1950," I upgraded from a bowtie to a necktie.

What inspires you to remain a dedicated and involved member of the Pace alumni community?

My education at Pace gave me the foundation to cultivate a productive business career, and to raise and provide for my family while playing my small role in helping propel the United States of America to then-unparalleled heights of prosperity. For half a century, I enjoyed a flourishing career and thriving practice as a Certified Public Accountant and principal of a midtown Manhattan public accounting firm. At Pace, I was the first member of my family to earn a college degree. 75 years later, this past May 2025, I enthusiastically attended �鶹��ý's commencement while wearing a cap, gown, and military cord (US Navy) inside Louis Armstrong Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

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I'm grateful to Pace for graciously welcoming my participation, and to President Krislov for generously acknowledging my presence during his remarks from the stage. Concurrent with President Krislov's greeting, I was shown on the towering, overhead screens around the stadium. I was ecstatic! I cannot imagine a US Open Tennis Tournament Champion being as thrilled as me. Only minutes immediately preceding commencement, I, alongside my son, Douglas, and my eminently resourceful aide, Angela, were delighted to pose for photos with President Krislov and Dr. Jonathan Hill. Earlier this month, June 2025, I eagerly attended Pace's Golden Graduates Luncheon inside 15 Beekman Street, the newest building on Pace's Lower Manhattan campus.

I very much enjoyed meeting my fellow Pace Golden Graduates alumni, spending time with President Krislov, and learning more about Pace's storied history from esteemed University Archivist, Ellen Sowchek.

As a lifelong New Yorker, do you have a favorite place in NYC?

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Growing up in the Bronx, my world was confined to predominantly 20 blocks north, 20 blocks south, 20 blocks east, 20 blocks west surrounding my family's home. While serving in the US Navy in WWII's Pacific Theater, I recall standing on the shore of New Guinea in the South Pacific, many thousands of miles from home, as an 18-years-young teenager. Gazing over the Pacific Ocean, the horizon seemed limitless.

Like many of my fellow service members who answered the call in defense of the United States of America, I eagerly traded the concrete sidewalks and comforts of home and family for the waves of the Pacific Ocean amid the uncertainty and perils of war. I grew up... fast. We all did.

I proudly served my country as a crew member aboard the USS Laurens APA153 in the Pacific as a teenager (18, 19, 20-years-young), launching amphibious assaults and combating Japanese kamikaze aircraft attacks during the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf in Northern Luzon in the Philippines and Battle of Okinawa. Evading Japanese enemy submarines while conducting island-hopping campaigns, the USS Laurens logged more than 60,000 nautical miles in WWII's Pacific Theater. We sailed from as far south as New Caledonia (east of Australia) north to New Guinea, the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Okinawa, Pearl Harbor, then Japan (the latter for the Allied occupation following Japan's surrender), plus off of the Aleutian Islands near Alaska.

Unsurprisingly, my favorite New York City venue is the WWII US Navy aircraft carrier, USS Intrepid (CV-11), at the Intrepid Museum at Pier 86, West 46th Street on Manhattan's Hudson River waterfront. Following the noble example established by Pace, I remain persistent in my efforts to make positive and enduring contributions to society. In addition to my speaking engagements and school visits, I currently and actively volunteer at the Intrepid Museum.

While volunteering aboard the Intrepid, I share vivid anecdotes and answer questions regarding my WWII US Navy service. I also take photos with museum visitors while displaying components of my personal collection of vintage WWII artifacts�鶹��ý�including photos, documents, etc.�鶹��ý�spread across two tables and four easels aboard the hangar deck of the Intrepid. Almost 100-years-young, I am determined to remain active, vital and engaged while continuing to live my life purposefully. I will not allow age to define or limit me.

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Being aboard the Intrepid invigorates me at almost 100. I feel like a gung-ho, invincible, teenage US Navy sailor back in the thick of things in WWII's Pacific Theater, eager to mix it up once again. Unlike the famed 16th century explorer, Ponce de Leon, I discover the Fountain of Youth while volunteering aboard the Intrepid.

Last month, May 2025, marked 79 years since your honorable discharge from the United States Navy, in which you served and defended our country in World War II�鶹��ý�another remarkable milestone. What did your service in the Navy teach you about yourself and others?

My service as a teenager in the US Navy allowed me to appreciate that when we, as Americans, come together, we can accomplish anything. And we did. We won the war. My service to our nation also taught me that the most powerful weapon is a free people, unselfishly committed to a cause greater than themselves, willing to fight and die in defense of freedom. As we exclaim in the US Navy, "Non sibi sed patriae" ("Not for self, but for country"). I am proud to be an American. I am proud to have worn the cloth of this great nation while serving my country... and I am grateful to all those who have and continue to do the same. To my fellow veterans and those currently, selflessly, valiantly serving in the US Armed Forces today, as we also exclaim in the US Navy, "Bravo Zulu" ("Well Done"). "Semper Fortis" ("Always Courageous") to my fellow US Navy Veterans.

I am proud to be an American. I am proud to have worn the cloth of this great nation while serving my country... and I am grateful to all those who have and continue to do the same.

As former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro graciously remarked about me during his keynote address during the Chairmen's Dinner in NYC's Times Square District on the eve of the commissioning ceremony for the US Navy's USS Cooperstown (LCS-23), I remain as passionate about today's Navy as I was when I wore the uniform and served during WWII. For example, as I do annually, I again participated in the New York City Veterans Day Parade last November. Veterans Day 2024 was my equivalent of a high school athlete's �鶹��ý�National Signing Day.�鶹��ý� Producers of the parade at the United War Veterans Council, as well as WABC-TV, Channel 7, and the US Navy requested that I participate in a alongside US Navy Rear Admiral Carl Lahti during WABC-TV's live broadcast of the parade.

During the live interview, I humorously made Rear Admiral Lahti "an offer he couldn't refuse.�鶹��ý� I proposed to rejoin the US Navy, provided that I, the US Navy�鶹��ý�s �鶹��ý�newest/youngest-at-heart recruit,�鶹��ý� be assigned a top rack (bunk) for my sleeping accommodations aboard a US Navy ship. Rear Admiral Lahti enthusiastically responded to WABC-TV's Lucy Yang, "We'll take him back. We'll take him back today."

To this day, you work dutifully as a living historian, speaking to others �鶹��ý� especially students �鶹��ý� about World War II, your service, and the experiences and lessons you took with you from that time. What drives you to continue sharing your story?

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80 years following the Allied Victory in WWII in 1945, I continue to serve by visiting students enrolled in elementary, middle, high school, universities, federal service academies, senior military colleges, ROTC programs throughout the USA and abroad while enthusiastically sharing enduring lessons I learned about courage, perseverance, honor, freedom, patriotism.

With the hope that the horrific, genocidal perils of the WWII era may never resurface, I eagerly meet with, speak to, and invest time in younger generations. To honor my fellow service members who, like me, wore the uniform of the US Armed Forces during WWII and to help preserve their legacy, particularly those who were killed or wounded, I continue to dedicate myself to educating students about their courageous service and selfless sacrifices.

I describe the cost of defending the United States of America to students as follows. The largest funeral I have ever and will ever attend occurred on April 2, 1945, during the brutal Battle of Okinawa. Wearing my dress white US Navy uniform, I stood at attention and saluted while on the top deck of my ship, USS Laurens APA153. As the bugler blew taps, my fellow US Navy sailors, killed in action during Japanese kamikaze suicide aircraft attacks on our task unit of US Navy ships earlier the same day, were buried at sea. The remains of each sailor who made the ultimate sacrifice, inside a weighted canvas bag covered with the American flag, was slid into the watery grave of the Pacific Ocean.

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As I reflected upon my fellow sailors' fate, I thought of their families back home in the States, their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. None would have a grave with a stone to visit and grieve over. Maybe they would be given their son's, brother's, husband's dog tags if they were not lost amid the wreckage or destroyed in the fire of the kamikaze attacks.

I strive to impress upon young generations that those with whom I served, those who rendered the last, full measure of devotion to our nation, sacrificed two lives: The life they were living before being killed in action, and the life they sacrificed in a commitment to a cause greater than themselves�鶹��ý�returning home to a loving family and grateful nation, gaining an education, cultivating a profession, experiencing the blessings of being a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, elderly man.

I have experienced and enjoyed these blessings. Therefore, it is my duty to honor them while preserving their legacy of service, sacrifice, and valor.

As an Authentic Living Historian, how do you hope to influence the study and awareness of World War II?

As an Authentic Living Historian, I am adamantly opposed to having young generations rely exclusively on impersonal textbooks, videos, films, and Zoom sessions to learn history. Consequently, I remain dedicated to enabling young students the unique opportunity to meet, converse face-to-face with, and ask questions directly of a WWII US Navy Veteran. According to research performed by the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, of the 16.4 million Americans who served in the US Armed Forces during WWII, only approximately 61,000 (little more than 1/3 of 1%) of these American Heroes, National Treasures, sources of immense national pride, are estimated to remain with us. Considering only WWII US Navy veterans such as myself, the number still living is the equivalent of a mathematical rounding error. The physical link to the generation that saved people, nations, perhaps the world, is rapidly diminishing. Sadly, it won't be long before all we have left are museums, history books, photographs, television interviews, oral histories and films.

Now, 80 years following the Allied Victory in WWII in 1945, the opportunity to meet a service member in the greatest conflict in recorded human history is fast fleeting. For many Americans, the next time they meet a WWII veteran may be the last time they meet a WWII veteran.

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My purpose in volunteering aboard the Intrepid Museum at almost 100-years-young aligns with the museum's mission to "promote the awareness and understanding of history...and service...in order to honor our heroes, educate the public and inspire future generations.�鶹��ý� Imagine the delight of a young student, excitedly visiting a WWII US Navy aircraft carrier and, unexpectedly, being greeted by one of the last remaining WWII US Navy Veterans. Now, imagine, this amazed young student listening intently as I provide my firsthand, vivid description of my shipmates and I aboard the USS Laurens (APA153), launching an amphibious invasion of an island occupied and defended by the Japanese military, our evading Japanese enemy submarines, our encounters combating Japanese kamikaze suicide aircraft attacks, and our resultant participation in the US Navy burial at sea. That young student may be inspired to pursue further study of WWII and, subsequently, enlist in the US Navy.

By educating young generations, I strive to remedy the historical illiteracy concerning WWII in the Pacific Theater.

Too often, my fellow WWII Veterans of the Pacific Theater and I are disheartened when students confess that they were unaware WWII was also waged in the Pacific. Too many mistakenly believe that WWII was exclusive to the European Theater. Furthermore, I emphatically articulate that I will not refer to 1945, nor May 8, 1945, neither September 2, 1945, as the "end" of WWII, nor the "end" of WWII in Europe, nor the "end" of WWII in the Pacific, respectively. Instead, I declare that I will characterize the forementioned three milestones as the "Allied Victory". I reason that the Allies and the Axis Powers did not "play to a tie.�鶹��ý� President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, my first Commander-in-Chief, punctuated his "Day of Infamy" address 24 hours following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as follows: "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."

Furthermore, I remind listeners that Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during WWII, Winston Churchill, did not contort his fingers to resemble the letter "E". Instead, Churchill raised and parted his index and middle fingers to illustrate the letter "V" for "Victory."

By educating young generations, I strive to remedy the historical illiteracy concerning WWII in the Pacific Theater.

When you look back on your extraordinary life, what are you proudest of? What have been the keys to your successes, and how have you navigated failure?

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In the twilight of my life, the proudest and most enduring components of my legacy are, of course, my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. I hope that I have been a positive influence on them.

I'm heartened when my youngest son, Douglas, proudly proclaims, "Most children never meet their hero. I'm extraordinarily blessed to have been raised, inspired, and unconditionally loved by my hero, my Dad, Arthur. Every day is Father's Day. Every day is Veterans Day." I'm blessed. My cup runneth over.

My commitment to causes greater than myself, including my enthusiasm for educating and inspiring young generations as a current volunteer aboard the Intrepid Museum, as well as during school visits locally, domestically, and abroad �鶹��ý� such as I did in Manila, Philippines this past February 2025 �鶹��ý� I hope instructs people everywhere of all generations that old age is not an obstacle to remaining relevant, but rather an opportunity to share a modern ager's experience and wisdom. By exuberantly sharing the enduring lessons I learned about courage, perseverance, honor, freedom, and patriotism, I hope to demonstrate that modern agers are not dispensable, but, instead, essential.

To motivate myself, I reason that Abraham (of the Old Testament) lived to 175 years of age. At 99-years-young, months shy of my 100th birthday, I am therefore middle-aged, I tell myself. My mantra has become "roll with the rhythm of the world.�鶹��ý� In other words, getting aggravated only gets you aggravated. So, why bother?

What is one piece of advice you would give to recent Pace graduates?

Congratulations on your milestone achievement and welcome to the close-knit family of proud Pace alumni. As we exclaim in the US Navy, "Anchors Aweigh.�鶹��ý�

Regarding advice, I will invoke the words and wisdom of Mark Twain: "Go out on a limb, that's where the fruit is."

By exuberantly sharing the enduring lessons I learned about courage, perseverance, honor, freedom, and patriotism, I hope to demonstrate that modern agers are not dispensable, but, instead, essential.