Parkersburg, Marietta plan Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremonies
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PARKERSBURG -- Local veteran groups will commemorate Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in Parkersburg and Marietta on Dec. 7.
In Parkersburg, a wreath ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at the point of Point Park. Participants are asked to gather at 1:30 p.m.
Representatives of different veterans groups will place a wreath in the Ohio River. A color guard will also be on hand.
A ceremony will be held in Marietta at 5 p.m. on the east side of the Putnam Street Bridge along the Muskingum River.
This event will include an invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, an address by Larry Proctor of The Military Order of the Purple Heart, laying of the memorial wreaths in the waters, a 21 gun salute, and playing of "Taps" by the combined VFW/American Legion Honor Guard.
Organizers said a number of groups will be placing wreaths in the river. They also said they are doing it at 5 p.m. in hopes of more people being able to attend after school and work.
On Aug. 23, 1994, the United States Congress designated Dec. 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Every year, remembrance events are held at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, culminating in a commemoration ceremony on Dec. 7, according to the National Park Service website.
Each year on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor survivors, veterans, and visitors from all over the world come together to honor and remember the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the website said.
A further 1,178 people were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) and destroyed 188 aircraft, the website said.
The attack brought the United States fully into World War II until its end in 1945 with the surrender of the Empire of Japan on Sept. 2.