Minn. Marks 69 Years Since Pearl Harbor Attack
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- It's been 69 years Tuesday since the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs holds a remembrance ceremony at the state Veterans Service Building near the Capitol with the Pearl Harbors Survivors Association and the Fort Snelling National Cemetery Memorial Rifle Squad.
There will be a rifle salute. Survivor Richard Thill will also speak briefly.
Thill was stationed aboard the USS Ward, which sunk a Japanese midget submarine while patrolling near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The shots are considered the first fired by Americans in World War II. The gun that fired on the sub now sits near the Veterans Building on the state Capitol grounds.
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