Virus restrictions lead to virtual Pearl Harbor commemoration
For the first Dec. 7 in recent memory, all was quiet aboard the U.S. Coast Guard ship WHEC 37, moored along Pier 5 of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
Dozens did not gather to stand atop its deck, surrounded by bunting in red, white and blue. Its bell did not toll in remembrance of the thousands of lives lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor. A trumpet’s song couldn’t be heard above the city’s din, nor could the sorrowful notes of bagpipes, or the sharp roar of her cannons.
But the Historic Ships in Baltimore, a group dedicated to preserving the WHEC 37, still sought to remember the “date which will live in infamy” during a year that will likely live in infamy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus restrictions, along with a recent rise in cases, made holding an event aboard the Coast Guard ship impossible, but t he group held a virtual commemoration, including a short tour of the ship’s interior, and excerpts from the ceremonies of years past.
“A lot of the folks who do attend this event are people who would be at risk,” said Chris Rowsom, executive director of Historic Ships in Baltimore. “So that’s the last thing we want to do.”
Normally, the event aboard the ship draws World War II veterans, their descendants and plenty of onlookers, Rowsom said.
“For all those people, this event is very special every year,” Rowsom said. “And so the virtual event is absolutely no substitute, but we wanted to get something out there for folks to remember.”
More than 2,400 Americans lost their lives Dec. 7, 1941, and an additional 1,000 people were wounded, when Japanese fighter planes fired on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Honolulu in a surprise attack on the United States. The attack damaged or destroyed hundreds of American airplanes, and several naval vessels, including battleships. The next day, the U.S. Congress declared war on Japan, and United States forces entered World War II.
WHEC 37, formerly known as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Taney, is the last remaining warship that protected Pearl Harbor on that day 79 years ago. During the attack, the ship was posted close to the power station for the naval base, and fired upon enemy planes to protect it, said Brian Auer, operations director at Historic Ships in Baltimore.
The ship was renamed in July to remove the name of Roger B. Taney, the Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which asserted that free Black people and enslaved people did not have a path to U.S. citizenship and the rights that came along with it.
The ship recently returned from a four-week stint at the Coast Guard Yard, wherein it was removed from the water and its hull was cleaned and treated to prevent corrosion. Officials also removed thousands of gallons of old fuel from the ship, and conducted thickness testing to ensure the hull’s integrity as part of the $400,000 in repairs. The last time the ship underwent similar repairs was in 2003, Rowsom said, and it likely won’t need similar treatment until 15 to 20 years from now.
Historic Ships is hoping to reopen WHEC 37 and its other vessels in April, Rowsom said, depending on coronavirus restrictions, and is hopeful that it will be able to welcome visitors aboard to commemorate Pearl Harbor’s 80th anniversary next year.
“There’s a big missing spot,” Rowsom said. “Especially with the people who come aboard every year, who really appreciate the event, they’re all folks who follow the ship, who are friends of the historic ships. And they make a point to be there.”