Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

December 7, 2023

Governor Ned Lamont has ordered all flags, including U.S. and State of Connecticut flags, to be lowered from sunrise to sunset in recognition of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. This observance honors the 2,403 lives lost and the 1,178 people who were injured in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The tragedy during World War II devastated our country, and we will never forget its impact and those we lost. It’s important to reflect on the sacrifice those heroes made for our country. 18 servicemembers from Connecticut were killed in the attack. 

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)

In addition, the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven, nicknamed the Q Bridge, will be illuminated in red, white, and blue lights this evening to honor the anniversary. Beacons will project light upward from the bridge towers from sunset through the early morning hours on Friday. The bridge, which carries I-95 over the Quinnipiac River, is named in honor of those who served during the attack.