In observance of the 79th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, the local Wreaths Across America program will have a display Thursday, Dec. 3, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Samuelson House at Pioneer Village Museum, Burlington.

A display will also be set up at the Grand Hotel in the main lobby area from Friday, Dec. 4-Monday, Dec. 7. There will be informational materials provided about the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, along with photos of the four North Dakota sailors whose remains have been brought back to their hometowns for proper burial.

Wreaths Across America will be honoring four of our own from North Dakota. They are:

– Gunners Mate 1st Class Arthur Neuenschwander of Fessenden. Neuenschwander was aboard the USS Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and died there. His remains were returned to his hometown after 75-plus years. Neuenschwander’s remains arrived at Fargo’s Hector International Airport June 21, 2017. A public memorial service and a committal service was held on June 24, 2017.

– Fireman 1st Class Lawrence H. Fecho of Willow City was killed in the attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His remains were returned to his hometown of Willow City. A family service was held at the Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau, on Aug. 12, 2017. Fecho was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft.

– Radio Man 2nd Class Floyd Arthur Wells’ remains were identified through DNA testing and was returned to his family for burial at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan on Oct. 1, 2019. Wells, of Cavalier, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1938, a few years after graduating from high school at Fairdale in northeast North Dakota. He was one of the five radio operators on the USS Arizona when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft, killing 1,177 crewmen.

– Fireman Second Class Albert Renner of Mandan was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, moored at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the ship sustained multiple torpedo hits from Japanese airplanes. Renner was killed along with 105 other crewmen, but many of the remains had never been identified.

There will be two donation boxes at the Pioneer Village Museum for those visiting the display to give a donation both to support Wreaths Across America and Pioneer Village Museum. Application forms for Wreaths Across America will also be available.