ST. PAUL — The 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was a defining moment in U.S. history, and the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and Fort Snelling National Cemetery Memorial Rifle Squad will host a remembrance ceremony at 10 a.m. Dec. 7 in St. Paul. The event will include a rifle salute, and brief program, including remarks by guest speaker George Augustinack and recognition of USS Arizona survivor Edward Wentzlaff.
A group of local World War II historical reenactors will be at the event, dressed in military uniforms, to display equipment and uniforms from the era.
Minnesotans have had a proud history of service related to Pearl Harbor. Naval Reservists from Minnesota, serving aboard the USS Ward, were conducting a patrol near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. They sank a Japanese midget submarine, thus firing the first American shots of WWII. The number three gun, which fired the shot, sits on the Capitol grounds near the west side of the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul.
