LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The attack on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago will be commemorated at Louisville's Frazier History Museum.
World War II veterans from across the state are scheduled to be at the museum for a ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7.
“Saluting our Veterans: The 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor” could mark the largest gathering of its kind in the country on this anniversary, according to a release. The ceremony will pay tribute to one of Kentucky’s only living survivors of Pearl Harbor: 100-year-old David Payne from Hardin, Kentucky, who is no longer able to make the trip.
On the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kentucky’s only living survivor is 100-year-old David Payne from Hardin, Kentucky. Images courtesy of the Payne family. Dec. 6, 2021
Military vehicles and memorabilia will be on site as the museum shares a Kentucky connection to the days following the Pearl Harbor attack.
Historians said a selection of one-of-a-kind historical documents were sent to Fort Knox for safe-keeping on Dec. 27, 1941.
The Frazier History museum said two weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack, a heavily guarded U.S. Army truck left Louisville for the U.S. Mint's Gold Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. It contained a half-dozen padlocked cases. The cases contained an original copy of the Magna Carta from 1215, a copy of the Gutenberg Bible and originals of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
The documents were kept in an underground vault that was supposedly invulnerable to bombing attack. They remained at Fort Knox from 1941-44.
The public is invited to attend the commemoration Tuesday for free with the price of museum admission. Veterans and two family members receive free admission. Doors open at 10 a.m., and the program begins at 11 a.m.
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