World War II veterans mark anniversary of Pearl Harbor

Two surviving veterans of World War II attended a ceremony Wednesday to mark the anniversary of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The ceremony was held on Dec. 7 — which is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day — in the city’s War Memorial building in Rogers Park.

Representatives of the state and city Veterans Affairs Departments and the Danbury Council of Veterans, along with other veterans and city officials honored the sacrifices of their forefathers and family members in the Army, Navy,

Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.

The attack led the United States to enter World War II. On that day, 2,403 service members and civilians were killed and 1,178 people were injured during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Two U.S. Navy battleships sank — the USS Arizona and the USS Utah — and 188 aircraft were destroyed.

Speakers included Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito and Lt. Col. Thomas Saadi, the state’s commissioner of veterans affairs, as well as Lt. Cdr. Mark Dwinells of the U.S. Navy (retired), the senior naval science instructor in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, or NJROTC program, at Bethel High School.

H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media A4. World War II Navy veterans John Edmond, right, and Julis Demo, left, both of Danbury, listen to a speech as Danbury and state officials and other veterans mark the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor during a ceremony Wednesday at The War Memorial in Rogers Park in Danbury, More photos on Page