Dec. 7, 1941 marked the day that the United States was compelled to enter World War II after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor.

On Dec. 7 of this year, Whit Gallaspy, the speaker at the American Legion Post 24’s Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Breakfast, outlined the work of Pearl Harbor “heroes” Doris Miller, Merwyn Bannon, Lt. Ken Taylor, Lt. George Welch, and George Walters. He also told the story of a ship that went down on that day, and how would-be rescuers realized that ship’s trapped crew must have been making the eerie banging noise coming from it.

“May the faint but distinct tapping of trapped sailors 76 years ago at Pearl Harbor forever ring in our ears, reminding us to be vigilant and to beg God’s blessing of peace,” Gallaspy said.

Dozens of veterans, including five who served in World War II, attended the breakfast. The meal featured a table with a symbolic empty place setting. The Legion Chaplain, Paul Corse, described the symbolism. The setting included a lemon on a plate to symbolize the bitter fate of those who perished at Pearl Harbor, a glass turned down to designate that the veteran in that case was not coming home, and a candle to symbolize “the light of hope in our hearts” that POWs and MIAs would return home some day.

State Sen. Beth Mizell announced that has secured the traveling Vietnam Military Wall for Washington Parish. She also gave the five veterans who served in World War II lapel pins of an eagle called the “ruptured duck.”

The Legion offered a 21-gun salute, and Taps was played for all veterans who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.