Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2006

Governor Pawlenty proclaims December 7 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in Minnesota -- December 6, 2006

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is on Dec 7th. It is a tradition to fly the US Flag at half-staff until sunset in remembrance to all those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.

More than 60 people gathered for the Ft. Snelling National Cemetery Memorial Rifle Squad’s 25th Pearl Harbor Day Remembrance Ceremony on December 7th, 2006. The ceremony marked the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the beginning of events that would shape a generation. The USS Ward held the gun that started World War II and is now stationed on the State Capitol Mall in St. Paul, MN. The cannon on the USS Ward fired the shot that hit the Japanese submarine off Pearl Harbor 65 years ago today. Among those of the USS Ward crew present at the ceremony were Donald R. Pepin and Richard Thill, two of the Naval Reserve 47th Division; both are natives of St. Paul, MN.

Capt (Ret) James Johns was the featured speaker for the event. Johns is a retired Army Captain with 25 years of dedicated service. He entered the Army in 1953, at the end of the Korean War. Capt Johns continued to serve until 1991. He ended his career in the Minnesota National Guard.

A reception was held following the ceremony on the 5th floor of the Veteran Service Building in St. Paul.

Donald R. Pepin of St. Paul, MN, Naval Reservist, 47th Division aboard the USS Ward, Michael Pugliese, Deputy Commissioner of Veteran Affairs, Capt (Ret) James Johns, featured speaker, and Richard Thill of St. Paul, MN, Naval Reservist, 47th Division aboard the USS Ward are pictured above.

The gun that started World War II is now stationed on the State Capitol Mall in St. Paul. This cannon fired the shot that hit the Japanese submarine off Pearl Harbor 65 years ago; the USS Ward Forward Gun is pictured above.

Additional resources:

• President Bush's Proclamation (no longer on-line)
• Governor Pawlenty's Proclamation (no longer on-line)
• Program brochure for December 7th
• White House Pearl Harbor Day information - www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/veterans/
• President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech - www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/ww2/PearlHarbor/fdr-speech.htm
• Pearl Harbor Memorial - www.pearlharbormemorial.com
• US Naval Historical Center Pearl Harbor Raid information - www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm
• USS Ward
  • Report of Pearl Harbor Attack - www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/pearl/ph97.htm
  • The Search for the World War II Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk off Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 - www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/midget.html
  • Conservation treatment of the USS Ward Forward Gun, MN Historical Society - www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/reports/ward_gun.pdf
• Pioneer Press article - Pearl Harbor veterans gather for final salute
• Online School - Pearl Harbor Remembered - www.onlineschools.org/pearl-harbor-remembered/