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- By Native News Online Staff
SALT RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY Ariz. — Honoring the loss of over 2,400 people who lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day memorializes one of the most pivotal moments in U.S. history. The National Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance on Dec. 7, 2020 will be commemorated at the USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River. Though Remembrance events this year are going to be different than originally envisioned, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community will be hosting an event at the USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River and invites you to join virtually and to join the live streaming of the Pearl Harbor ceremony in Hawaii immediately thereafter.
Both events will be live streamed for public viewing via USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River’s website page and will include the following on Dec. 7, 2020:
- 9 am (MST) at the Gardens, the Salt River Indian Community’s event will including a flag breathing ceremony, Taps and a 21-gun salute.
- 10 am (MST) there will be live-streaming the USS Arizona Pearl Harbor Remembrance ceremony entitled, Above and Beyond the Call.
The attack against the naval base at Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States. On that day over 2,400 servicemen and women were killed, including 1,177 from the USS Arizona and 68 civilians, hundreds of aircraft were damaged or destroyed, as were most of the ships in the harbor. It was an unprecedented surprise ttack that precipitated the United States entry into WWII as the U.S. sided with the allies and declared war on Japan.
The USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River is located on tribal land and was built by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to honor the brave individuals that sacrifice so much for our freedom, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River span the exact length and width of the USS Arizona with over 1,500 commemorative columns, outlining the actual perimeter of the USS Arizona. Each column is representative of a life aboard the ship that day. In addition, there are gaps within the column outline representing an individual who survived the attack. As the day ends, each column illuminates, transforming the memorial at night representing each individual as a light that will continue to go on and stand through the test of time.
Open daily from dawn until dusk, the Gardens are free to the public. Located in the Talking Stick Entertainment District at 7455 North Pima Rd, between Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and Great Wolf Lodge Arizona, on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The relic room will reopen to the public for visitation on December 7th from 10 am to 3 pm.
Those interested in learning more can also stop by the Discover Salt River Visitor Center located at 9120 East Talking Stick Way, Suite E-10, Scottsdale, AZ 85250; in the Pavilions at Talking Stick shopping center. The visitor center is open Monday-Thursday from 10 am to 3 pm. For more information, please contact the Salt River Visitor Center at 888-979-5010 or visit www.memorialgardensatsaltriver.com/.
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