Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony today in Middletown

Local veteran posts are hosting a ceremony today at Middletown’s Bicentennial Commons to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The military ceremony will feature a combined Honor Guard of Middletown’s American Legion Post 218 and Franklin’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3809, complete with a 21-gun salute and the trumpet performance of “Taps.” The ceremony is set to begin at 1 p.m.

Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 marked the U.S.’s entry into World War II — two years after military conflict began — as Congress declared war on Japan a day later and declared war on Germany within a week. The attack resulted in 2,403 American deaths, including 68 civilians.

Nationally, the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service will host a ceremony at Peral Harbor. It is the first to be open to the public since before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

David Kilton, the National Park Service’s chief of interpretation for Pearl Harbor, said he’s not sure how many people will attend but they’re anticipating between 2,000 to 3,000 people.

During the attack in 1941 there were more than 2,400 people who died.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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