Evers orders flags at half-staff in honor of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
MILWAUKEE - Gov. Tony Evers has ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Mon., Dec. 7 on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu took the lives of 2,403 Americans and injured 1,178 more.
Typically, there is a ceremony remembering Pearl Harbor at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. However, due to the City Health Department's restrictions on COVID-19 related to gatherings, there will be no ceremony this year.
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“The attack on Pearl Harbor was a turning point not only for World War II but for our country, deeply impacting Americans across our state and nation,” said Gov. Evers. “Each year, Wisconsin remembers the bravery and sacrifice demonstrated by Americans on O'ahu that day, and honors the enduring legacy of our veterans, including the more than 5,800 World War II veterans currently living in Wisconsin, who fought to preserve and defend the freedoms and quality of life enjoyed by folks across our country today.”
Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell R. Lucas issued the following statement in remembrance of the American lives lost in the December 7, 1941 attack in Pearl Harbor:
“On today's date, 79 years ago, 2,403 heroic Americans sacrificed their lives in defense of our great nation,” said Sheriff Lucas. “Thinking not of themselves but of their country, courageous Sailors and Airmen leapt into action to defend their vessels, their base, and the people of Hawaii from a surprise act of war. We are reminded today of the legacy of heroism left behind by the two Milwaukee County natives, Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, commander of the USS Arizona, and 17-year-old Seaman Second Class Arthur Thinnes, who were killed in action on that infamous day at Pearl Harbor.”
“The history of a great nation is marred by tragedy and redeemed by triumph in the face of adversity, at home and abroad,” continued Sheriff Lucas. “As we, here at home in Milwaukee County, grapple with the great crises of our time, let us look to our forebears of the Greatest Generation as examples of the courage, integrity, and devotion to duty that we might emulate.”