SOURCE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2016
PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS, WWII VETERANS TO JOIN FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL IN MARKING 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR AT NATIONAL WWII MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, DC
The two-day Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemoration will feature a candlelight vigil and reading of the names of those killed during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack and a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Friends of the National World War II Memorial (Friends) will host a two-day Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemoration on December 6 and 7, 2016 at the World War II Memorial will remember and honor those killed and wounded in the December 7, 1941 attacks and pay tribute to our “Greatest Generation.”
On the evening of December 6th at 5 p.m., the Friends of the National World War II Memorial will host a very special candlelight vigil at the WWII Memorial in honor of the 2,403 men and women killed on Oahu, Hawaii 75 years ago.
The event will begin with a brief opening ceremony featuring remarks by Friends chairman Josiah Bunting III and a prayer delivered by Pearl Harbor Survivor and WWII veteran The Reverend Richard Young. Over the course of three hours, the names of those who lost their lives on that fateful day will be read and remembered at the WWII Memorial.
On the afternoon of December 7th at 12:53 p.m., Friends and the National Park Service (NPS) will co-host a ceremony at the WWII Memorial which will remember and honor all those who died in the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
As part of the commemoration, more than twenty Pearl Harbor Survivors and World War II veterans will present wreaths at the Freedom Wall in remembrance of the more than 400,000 Americans who lost their lives during World War II, including the more than 2,400 who lost their lives in the attack 75 years ago. The Pearl Harbor Survivors and World War II veterans will be individually introduced during a pre-ceremony presentation at 12:30 p.m.
Senator John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker. Additionally, Senator McCain will be joined by his 104-year-old mother, Mrs. Roberta McCain, in presenting the United States of America wreath at the Memorial. Senator McCain’s father and grandfather, the first father-son pair ever to achieve four-star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy, both served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WWII.
Elliott (Toby) Roosevelt III, the great-grandson of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, will read President Roosevelt’s December 8, 1941 “Infamy Speech” and offer personal remarks on behalf of the Roosevelt family.
WUSA9 Morning Anchor Mike Hydeck will serve as the event’s Master of Ceremonies. Additionally, Friends
chairman Josiah Bunting III will speak on behalf of Friends and Gay Vietzke, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, will speak on behalf of NPS.
About Friends of the National World War II Memorial (www.wwiimemorialfriends.org):
Founded in 2007, the Friends of the National World War II Memorial (Friends) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to
honoring and preserving the national memory of World War II. To meet this mission, Friends sponsors an annual public
lecture series featuring prominent historians; hosts an annual teachers conference in Washington, DC; and collects and
archives video interviews of World War II veterans and other members of the Greatest Generation. Additionally, Friends has
the lead responsibility in planning and staging five or more major national commemorative events annually and each summer
sponsors a dozen free public performances of military bands at the Memorial. Friends relies on private support to breathe new
life into the Memorial and to ensure that it continues to serve as a living lesson for all Americans.
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For media inquiries:
Friends of the National World War II Memorial
Holly Rotondi, Executive Director
202.675.2017 / hrotondi@wwiimemorialfriends.org
http://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/images/press_releases/2016_Pearl_Harbor_75th_Anniversary_Commemoration.pdf
