The Board of Commissioners joined the Office of Veterans Affairs, members of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners and local veterans on Friday to honor the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Friday marked the 83rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Within just two hours, 18 US warships had been sunk or damaged, 188 aircrafts were destroyed, and 2,403 American servicemen and women were killed. The attack marked the beginning of the United States involvement in World War II.
“Dec. 7, 1941 is a day that forever changed our nation and the world,” said Commissioner Melinda Kane, liaison to the Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs. “It is so important that we continue to honor the lives of those lost on that day so their legacy will never be forgotten.”
This year, Commissioner Kane and Navy Veteran Lou Cavaliere also be presented a plaque to the Battleship New Jersey. The plaque is an exact replica of the Memorial Plaque which sits on the USS Missouri and memorializes the surrender of Japan to the US on Sept. 2, 1945, ending World War II in the Pacific Treater.
The event featured the presentation of the Peter Molnar Award to the Gloucester County Veteran Memorial Cemetery Honor Guard, an organization committed to honoring deceased comrades in arms by performing military service funerals. The award is presented yearly at the Pearl Harbor Ceremony and is presented to people or organizations who are significantly involved with veterans’ activities in the county and across the state.