HARTFORD, Conn — U.S. and State of Connecticut flags will be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Thursday for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, by order of Gov. Ned Lamont.
Nearly 2,400 lives were lost in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Japanese forces staged a surprise attack on military bases in Hawaii.
“There’s a debt that we all owe to our World War II veterans for selflessly defending the United States and saving hundreds of millions from oppression," said Lamont. "I urge all Connecticut residents to reflect on the sacrifices made by the Greatest Generation during World War II – especially those who were killed in the line of duty – and everything they have provided to our country and the world.”
The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven, called the Q Bridge by some, will be lit in red, white, and blue lights on the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday to honor the anniversary.
There are 18 servicemembers from Connecticut who were killed in the attack. Their names are listed on a stone memorial located at the base of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge near the intersection of East Street and Forbes Avenue. They include:
- Eric Allen of Darien (Navy, lieutenant junior grade, USS Enterprise)
- Henry Ludwig Carlson of Norwich (Navy, storekeeper 3c, USS Arizona)
- Edward W. Gosselin of Hamden (Naval Reserve, ensign, USS Arizona)
- Vincent M. Horan of Stamford (Army Air Force, corporal, Wheeler Field)
- Henry John Lanquette of Wallingford (Navy, coxswain, USS Arizona)
- John Kallervo Luntta of Collinsville (Navy, seaman 1c, USS Nevada)
- W.T. O’Neill Jr. of Glenbrook (Naval Reserve, ensign, USS Arizona)
- Stanislaus Joseph Orzech of Meriden (Navy, seaman 2c, USS Arizona)
- Richard Patterson Jr. of Berlin (Navy, shipfitter 3c, USS Arizona)
- Stephen Pepe of Bridgeport (U.S. Navy Water Tender 1st Class, USS Oklahoma)
- George Povesko of Bridgeport (Navy, seaman 1c, USS Arizona)
- Mike George Quarto of Norwich (Navy, seaman 1c, USS Arizona)
- Thomas James Reeves of Thomaston (Navy, chief radioman, USS California)
- William Eugene Seeley of New London (Navy, seaman 1c, USS Arizona)
- George Smith of New Haven (Army Air Force, private, Hickam Field)
- Gordon H. Sterling Jr. of Hartford (Army Air Force, 2nd lieutenant, Wheeler Field)
- Felix S. Wegrzyn of Bridgeport (Army Air Force, private, Hickam Field)
- Ulmont Irving Whitehead Jr. of Hartford (Navy, ensign, USS Arizona)
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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