Tomorrow's Anniversary

Tomorrow is, of course, the 63rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

Minnesota has, of course, a close connection to the events. 82 Minnesota navy reservists were on board the USS Ward when the Ward spotted a Japanese midget submarine off the entrance to Pearl Harbor, hours before the air attack that launched the war. The "A" (forward) gun on the Ward, manned by a crew of Minnesotans, fired the first shots of the war, sinking the sub.

The Ward's old "A" gun is on the grounds of the state Transportation building. Increasingly, the links to the war are monuments; the veterans are passing away faster every years, as did indeed Russell Reetz, one of the crewmen on that "A" gun.