Area veterans marked the 72nd anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor during a ceremony next to Ansonia City Hall on Main Street Friday.
Peter J. Danielczuk was the master of ceremonies for the event, which included a speech and proclamation by newly-elected Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti.
Cassetti invoked the memory of South African civil rights icon Nelson Mandela in his speech. Mandela died Dec. 5 at age 95.
Cassetti called Mandela an international symbol of freedom and peace, two things the U.S. fought for during World War II.
Cassetti concluded his remarks by quoting Mandela.
“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner,” the mayor said.
The guest speaker during Friday’s ceremony was Patrick Freeman, the commander at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 597 in Ansonia.
Freeman is a disabled Vietnam War veteran.
He urged the public to remember the lives lost and the people who were wounded during the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
“Picture that day. That’s what we’re here for. That day in Hawaii is something we have to continue to remember,” Freeman said.
Click the play button to hear remarks from Mayor Cassetti and Deacon Richard Renker of Assumption Church in Ansonia.
