The National Park Service and Navy Region Hawaii, with the support of Pacific Historic Parks, will a series of events as part of the 80th National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Commemoration. (National Park Service)
HONOLULU (Tribune News Service) — The National Park Service and Navy Region Hawaii, with the support of Pacific Historic Parks, are hosting a series of events through Thursday as part of the 80th National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Commemoration to honor the 2,390 American lives lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the island of Oahu on Dec. 7, 1941.
Unless noted, events are not open to the public.
USS Nevada Memorial Ceremony: 1 p.m. Sunday. Base access required.
The USS Nevada, the oldest battleship on Battleship Row on Dec. 7, 1941, managed to get underway during the attack but was subsequently damaged and grounded herself near Hospital Point. Family and friends will gather at historic Hospital Point to honor the crew and the legacy of the USS Nevada.
USS Utah Sunset Memorial Ceremony: Open to the public; 5 p.m. Monday. Base access required.
The ceremony honors the loss of the USS Utah and 58 crewmen after the ship was torpedoed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Utah was the first ship torpedoed in the attack; it sank 12 minutes later.
80th Remembrance Ceremony: Invitation only; 7:40 a.m. Tuesday.
About 150 World War II veterans, including approximately 40 Pearl Harbor survivors, will be present at Kilo Pier for the main ceremony. Eight hundred members of the public were awarded seats in a lottery to view the livestream at Pearl Harbor National Memorial’s Visitor Center. This year’s ceremony — ”Valor, Sacrifice, and Peace“ — honors the sacrifices of those who died in the attack while paying tribute to the allies’ ultimate victory in WWII.
The ceremony will start at 7 :50 a.m. with remarks by National Park Service Pearl Harbor National Memorial Superintendent Tom Leatherman; Rear Adm. Timothy Kott, Navy Region Hawaii; and keynote speaker, Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy. The event will also feature the Pacific Fleet Band, a wreath presentation and a flyover.
A view of “Battleship Row” during or immediately after the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. The capsized USS Oklahoma (is in the center, alongside USS Maryland. (U.S. Navy)
USS Oklahoma: Reinterment of the Unknowns: Invitation only; 11 a.m. Tuesday. Livestreamed.
The Navy, in partnership with the Defense Pow/MIA Accounting Agency and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, will host the reinterment of the 33 remaining unknown sailors of the USS Oklahoma. Through the six-year effort of Project Oklahoma, 355 of 388 sailors and Marines have been identified.
USS Oklahoma Memorial Ceremony: Open to the public; 2 p.m. Tuesday. Base access required.
World War II veterans, U.S. and allied service members, friends and family pay tribute to the 429 crew members of the USS Oklahoma killed Dec. 7, 1941, in the attack on Pearl Harbor during a ceremony on Ford Island. The casualties included 415 sailors and 14 Marines, who continued to fight even after the ship was struck by eight torpedoes. A ninth torpedo hit the ship as it sank and had begun to capsize.
USS Arizona Interment of Lt. Harvey Milhorn: Invitation only; 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Pearl Harbor National Memorial, in partnership with U.S. Navy Region Hawaii, will conduct the 45th interment of USS Arizona survivor, Lt. Harvey Milhorn a gunner’s mate on Dec. 7, 1941, who swam to safety on Ford Island and received medical care. He was eventually reassigned to the USS Tennessee and served on various ships throughout World War II. Milhorn, who retired from the U.S. Navy as a fully commissioned lieutenant, died in 2002.
The future USS Daniel Inouye passes beneath the Clairborne Pell Newport Bridge as it approaches Naval Station Newport, R.I., on Oct. 7, 2021. (Bruce Katz/Naval Station Newport)
Commissioning of destroyer USS Daniel Inouye: Invitation only; 9 :45 a.m. Wednesday. Livestreamed.
The Navy will commission DDG 118, the USS Daniel Inouye, in Pearl Harbor. The ship is named for the late Medal of Honor recipient and longtime senator from Hawaii.
USS Utah live dive: 11 a.m. Thursday. Livestreamed and available on screens at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.
Pearl Harbor National Memorial, in partnership with the National Park Service-Submerged Resource Center, will conduct the first-ever virtual interactive live dive of the USS Utah, the only other ship that remains where it capsized on Dec. 7, 1941. NPS divers will be supported and accompanied by U.S. Navy Region Hawaii-Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One divers. Viewers will be able to see the underwater remains of the USS Utah.
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