The USS Midway Museum will mark the 78th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Saturday at a ceremony on the flight deck of the retired aircraft carrier.
Starting at 9:00 a.m., the event includes a color guard demonstration, wreath presentations, a traditional two-bell ceremony and a flyover by vintage aircraft from Air Group One.
Scott McGaugh, the marketing director for the museum, said it’s important to continue to mark the historic day that then-President Franklin Roosevelt said would “live in infamy.”
“We still owe a great debt to the greatest generation,” McGaugh said, pointing out that 16 million Americans served during the war. “There are very few of them left. When we honor these kinds of days it reminds all of us that our nation can come together and unify for the greater good. That was certainly the case in World War II.”
A Pearl Harbor veteran is scheduled to attend as well, McGaugh said.
Attendees can expect to participate in some of the ceremony; McGaugh said it won’t just be people speaking from a podium.
He recommended people arrive early. Last year, more than 600 people attended, McGaugh said, so people should allow plenty of time to get to the flight deck.
The memorial wreaths will be presented at 9:57 a.m., the same time the attack began.
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