By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city and the West Haven Veterans Council will observe Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on the Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park at 10:30 a.m. today.
All veterans are invited to participate in the solemn service, which will commemorate the 82nd anniversary of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
The public is also invited.
The annual ceremony, held in front of the Walk of Honor’s William A. Soderman Memorial, will commence with a greeting by City Clerk John W. Lewis, the master of ceremonies, followed by a presentation of the colors and a flag-raising by the West Haven Fire Department Honor Guard.
It will feature remarks from Mayor Dorinda Borer read by Lewis on behalf of Borer, who is unable to attend because of her first meeting as mayor with the state Municipal Accountability Review Board in Hartford.
West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien will read the names of the 18 Connecticut servicemen who died in the Japanese bombing of the U.S. Navy base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. A firefighter will toll the department’s chrome bell each instant a name is called.
Connecticut’s last known Pearl Harbor survivor died in 2020 at age 99.
The Pearl Harbor tribute will include the Pledge of Allegiance led by Veterans Council President Dave Ricci, the national anthem, and opening and closing prayers.
It will also include a wreath-laying by Lewis and Rich Deso, West Haven’s municipal veterans representative, and taps played by retired West Shore Fire Department Lt. Kevin McKeon.