PHL Consulate General Joins Hawaii in Commemorating 76^th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

18 December 2017 HONOLULU — On the occasion of the 76^th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, a National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Commemoration was held in the morning of December 7, 2017 at Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and at the USS Arizona Memorial. The event was co-hosted by the Navy Region Hawaii and the National Park Service. The solemn event honored the memory of the men and women who died in that fateful morning of December 7, 1941. The guest speakers were Admiral Scott Smith, Commander, US Pacific Fleet and Ms. Jacqueline Ashwell, Superintendent, National Park Service, WWII Valor in the Pacific and Honolulu National Monuments. The keynote speaker was Mr. Stephen Twomey, a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist who authored the book, “Countdown to Pearl Harbor.” At 7:55 am, the exact time of the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor, the audience was asked to observe a moment of silence which was followed by a ”Missing Man” Flyover Formation by  the 199^th Fighter Squadron of the  Hawaii Air National Guard and the 19^th Fighter Squadron of the US Air Force. The program featured a Hawaiian Blessing and Prayer for Peace by Hawaiian and Japanese religious leaders, respectively. The program ended with a rifle salute, playing of TAPS and vintage aircraft flyover. Photo shows AFP Liaison Officer to USPACOM, Col. Joseph Archog; Consul General Gina Jamoralin; and COMELEC Commissioner Luie Tito Guia inside the USS Arizona Memorial. END

Consul General Gina Jamoralin throwing flower petals on the water below in honor of the USS Arizona crew who died and went down with the ship when it was sunked during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Their remains are still buried underneath the sunken hull of the ship over which the USS Arizona memorial was built.