Event to remember the thousands killed in Pearl Harbor attack
BENJAMIN ZACK, Standard-Examiner file photo
OGDEN — An annual event remembering the 2,403 service members and civilians killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 81 years ago will be held Wednesday, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, in Lorin Farr Park along the banks of the Ogden River.
In a combined effort to commemorate the events that unfolded on Dec. 7, 1941, Ogden’s American Legion Post 9 and the Golden Hours Veterans group are inviting the public to join them at 11 a.m. for a special presentation that will conclude with the release of red daisies into the river from an adjoining bridge.
A four-man honor guard with the Disabled American Veterans organization will be presenting as well as U.S. Navy veteran and Golden Hours Veterans member Bill Kelly, who will perform the taps bugle call.
In addition to those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor, over 1,000 others were injured. The USS Arizona and the USS Utah, two U.S. Navy battleships destroyed in the attack, rest where they sank in the harbor.
While a memorial for the USS Arizona was built over the sunken hull of the battleship, the USS Utah remains rolled on her port side off shore of Ford Island with a memorial built nearby.
Associated Press
Deemed one of the most pivotal moments in U.S. history, the attack on Pearl Harbor spurred the United States to declare war on Japan, thus beginning American involvement in World War II.
WWII U.S. Marine Corps veteran John Cole is expected to attend the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony with fellow members of the Golden Hours Veterans group.
Golden Hours member Steve Ross said the group has had other WWII veterans in the past, but Cole is the only one still living.