As is tradition, the Veterans Service Organizations in Fountain Hills invite the public to attend a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Veteran’s Memorial in Fountain Park.

In a speech to the assembled Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, the day following the horrific surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told Americans, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

At the president’s request, Congress declared a state of war between the U.S. and the Japanese empire.

Over 3,400 Americans were killed or wounded on December 7, 1941. During the next four years, vast numbers of Americans and their allies were to die before the war ended in 1945.

This year, the Fountain Hills Marine Corps League Detachment #1439 will host the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day event with participation by American Legion Post #58, AMVETS Post #7 and the VFW Post #7507.

Held at the Veterans Memorial, 17200 E. El Lago Blvd., the ceremony will commence with the posting of the colors by VFW Post #7507’s Color Guard with the whole event planned for one hour.

All attendees are encouraged to wear red, white and blue. It is also recommended that members of the various Veterans Service Groups wear their organizations’ appropriate recognized attire.