Day of Infamy: AMVETS hold Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony
AMVETS Post 1788 Commander Gene Venham gives his opening remarks at the Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony Thursday evening in Muskingum Park. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Veterans salute the American flag while a recording of “The Star Spangled Banner” plays during Thursday’s Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony in Muskingum Park. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
AMVETS Post 1788 Commander Gene Venham, center, gives out instructions to veterans releasing memorial wreaths into the Muskingum River off the Putnam Bridge during Thursday’s Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
AMVETS Post 1788 Commander Gene Venham gives his opening remarks at the Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony Thursday evening in Muskingum Park. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Veterans salute the American flag while a recording of “The Star Spangled Banner” plays during Thursday’s Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony in Muskingum Park. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
AMVETS Post 1788 Commander Gene Venham, center, gives out instructions to veterans releasing memorial wreaths into the Muskingum River off the Putnam Bridge during Thursday’s Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
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Various veterans groups and citizens gathered on the corner of Front and Putnam streets to remember those who fell in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Thursday was the 82nd anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. base in Hawaii, where 2,403 Americans died.
"It was an event that changed the face of America, as we know," AMVETS Post 1788 Commander Gene Venham said. "It's something we need to keep in our hearts and our minds not just today, but throughout the year."
The ceremony's keynote speaker was AMVETS Public Relations Officer Bruce Edward Haas, who said the attack was a surprise for the military.
"Eighteen days before Christmas, more than 2,400 Americans were killed, more than 1,200 wounded. Many of them were never to be found again. Thousands of families were devastated, and we were plunged into the Second World War," he said.
Haas said his father served in World War II in the 8th Air Force but was not at Pearl Harbor.
"He said, 'We need to make sure this never happens again on American soil because it's unimaginable,'" Haas said.
After Haas' remarks, the ceremony moved to the Putnam Bridge, where Marietta Police had momentarily blocked traffic. Venham called upon representatives from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Marine Corps League and Military Order of the Purple Heart to release memorial wreaths into the Muskingum River.
"Next year, we're thinking about doing the whole ceremony from the bridge," Haas said. "There's still some logistics to work out."
To conclude the ceremony, an honor guard performed a 21-gun salute and a trumpet player performed "Taps."