Pearl Harbor Day ceremony downtown Branson

Pearl Harbor Day ceremony downtown Branson

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, the Branson Veterans Task Force will commemorate National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day with a ceremony at 11 a.m. on the Lake Taneycomo lakefront, downtown Branson.

A wreath will be placed on the water in memory of the Americans killed on Dec. 7, 1941, and in honor of those who have served the nation. The ceremony will also include the toll of the bell, according to Tom Goldsworthy, vice chairman of the Branson Veterans Task Force and event organizer. The eight bells signify the time, 8 a.m., when Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory killing more than 2,400 Americans and wounding another 1,100. The following day President Franklin Roosevelt addressing a joint session of Congress called Dec. 7 ‘a date which will live in infamy.’ Declaring war against Japan, Congress ushered the United States of America into World War II.

Goldsworthy said Tom Eckert of 14 Karat Country will also be assisting with the ceremony and members of the Pearl Harbor Association in Springfield have been invited as special guests. The group will be treated to lunch following the ceremony at Golden Corral.

“We encourage the public to attend this ceremony to show gratitude for the greatest generation’s service and sacrifice to defeat tyranny,” Goldsworthy said.

Directions:To get to the lakefront near Scotty’s Trout Dock where the ceremony will be held take Business 65 South in downtown Branson to East Long St. and follow the signs under one bridge and just before the railroad bridge to the dock.

By Presidential decree, the flag of the United States of America should be flown at half-staff on Dec. 7 in honor of those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.

This is just one of many community service projects sponsored by the Branson Veterans Task Force and its partners, the largest of which is Veterans Homecoming in November. The Task Force works to promote an environment of patriotic pride and dignity to recognize and honor the nation’s veterans and their families. For more information contact: Branson Veterans Task Force Inc., 138 Pointe Royale Drive Suite 0 (Helms Building), Branson, MO 65615 or call 417-337-VETS.