On Tuesday, December 7, veterans and community members are invited to attend the USS KIDD Veterans Museum’s Pearl Harbor Remembrance Ceremony in Baton Rouge.
The observance will be held aboard the USS KIDD beginning at 11:55 a.m.
The event is free and open to the public. Music will be provided by the Marine Forces Reserve Band from New Orleans.
Guests for this year's service will include Sailors from the active-duty USS KIDD DDG-100: Commanding Officer CDR Matt Noland, and three crewmembers, Chief Petty Officer Cameron Cauthen, Logistics Specialist Seaman Richard McClain, and Boatswain's Mate Seaman Basilo Hernandez.
"We are coming to Baton Rouge because we want to maintain a connection between our history and the future of KIDD. DD-661 is our namesake, and one of the most decorated warships from the Second World War," said CDR Noland in a press release. "It is an honor to have her as part of our own legacy and very special to have the opportunity to remember Pearl Harbor onboard with some of my most accomplished young Sailors from her modern namesake, DDG-100.”
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, just before 8:00 a.m. Hawaii Time, Imperial Japanese airplanes and submarines attacked the United States Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor and the 14th Pursuit Wing at Wheeler Army Airfield. More than 2400 American military personnel were killed in the attack. Among those lost were Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Sr., after whom the USS KIDD is named, and 46 native sons of Louisiana. The next day, America entered World War II.
“The Pearl Harbor attack is never far from memory,” said Tim NesSmith, USS KIDD Ship Superintendent. “Every sailor that arrives at Pearl Harbor stands on the rail and renders honors to the USS ARIZONA and her crew as their ship passes the site of her wreckage. It is a lesson and a warning to every generation to always remain vigilant.”
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Following the service, there will be a memorial ceremony ashore honoring the 17 Coast Guard members of the WHITE ALDER which was lost during a collision on the Mississippi River near White Castle in 1968. Like the crew of the ARIZONA, the museum says that the WHITE ALDER’s crew is entombed aboard their ship on the river’s bottom.
Members of the USCG Marine Safety Unit in Baton Rouge will be on hand for that ceremony.
For more information on the museum and these ceremonies, call (225) 342-1942 or visit the website at www.usskidd.com.
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