NLR museum remembers Pearl Harbor

Week-long schedule of events marking 75th anniversary begins today

The staff at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock has been making final preparations for this week's extended observance of the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that led to the United States' entry into World War II.

Events, exhibits and activities related to the war and the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii begin today and will last through Sunday at various sites throughout central Arkansas in conjunction with the maritime museum. A full list of events is available at AIMMuseum.org/schedule-of-events or on the museum's Facebook page.

The official statewide observance, the Arkansas Remembers Pearl Harbor-75th Anniversary Ceremony, will be at the riverfront museum, just east of the Main Street bridge in North Little Rock. It will begin at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, with Gov. Asa Hutchison as the keynote speaker.

The ceremony will include at least two Pearl Harbor survivors from Arkansas, said Allison Hiblong, the museum's operations director.

The statewide observance moved to the museum's parking area for the first time last year. The 2015 anniversary of the attack came just two weeks after the arrival of the USS Hoga tugboat to the museum. The Hoga is a National Historic Landmark, having fought fires and pulled survivors from the waters during and after the Pearl Harbor attack, which led the U.S. to declare war on Japan the next day.

The city acquired ownership of the Hoga from the Navy in mid-2005, but it took more than 10 years to transport the boat from off the California coast to North Little Rock. The Maritime Museum also features the USS Razorback submarine, which was present in Tokyo Bay for the official Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.

Aside from North Little Rock, only Pearl Harbor has vessels from the beginning and end of U.S. involvement in World War II.

Maritime museum Executive Director Greg Zonner said this puts the museum "in a unique position" to allow Arkansans to experience World War II history.

For the 75th anniversary commemoration, organizers have added a moment of silence that they said can also be observed by individuals or groups, such as school classes, away from the ceremony itself.

"Obviously, not everybody can make it down to the museum, and we wanted to include as many people as possible," said Stephanie Slagle, communications manager for the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and a member of the committee that organized the weeklong Pearl Harbor observance.

The moment of silence is set for 11:48 a.m. CST -- 7:48 a.m. Hawaii time -- to mark the moment the first attack wave struck Hawaii.

There are discrepancies in historical accounts of when the attack began, though 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time is the most common time reported of when the first bombs were dropped.

The 7:48 a.m. time is listed in the Wikipedia.com account of the attack as it is depicted on ghostsofdc.org, which reads, "At 12:48 p.m. Washington time, bombs were falling on ships at Pearl Harbor" (or 11:48 a.m. CST).

Pearlharbor75thanniversary.com, the official website for Wednesday's national commemoration ceremony at Pearl Harbor, lists one program to be at 7:50 a.m. to observe the attack on Hickam Field, where 188 aircraft where destroyed. The ceremony at Pearl Harbor is scheduled for 7:45 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Hawaii time Wednesday.

"When looking at the attack at Pearl Harbor itself, the first bomb was dropped at 7:55 a.m.," said Hiblong, also a member of the committee that has spearheaded the North Little Rock commemoration efforts. "But when you look at the attack as a whole, including the entire island of Oahu, there was Japanese fire as early as 7:48 at areas such as Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station that is thought to be the first place attacked on Dec. 7.

"We hope those who would like to participate in the commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor can observe the time they want," she added. "We are just interested in the state of Arkansas observing this moment of silence in honor of those who served, fought and those who perished."

The Maritime Museum will be open for tours 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday. The museum will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. the other days this week. Food trucks will be on hand for the ceremony Wednesday.

Metro on 12/05/2016

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