WWII surrender ceremony in Hawaii limited to local veterans

HONOLULU (AP) — A Pearl Harbor ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II — possibly the last opportunity for many aging U.S. veterans to commemorate the day — will be limited to survivors of the war living in Hawaii because of coronavirus concerns.

The plan before Friday had been to allow about 200 people, mostly WWII veterans, their families and government officials, to gather on the battleship USS Missouri, which hosted the Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945 in Tokyo Bay.

But an announcement made Friday night said that those planning to fly into the state are no longer invited in an effort to protect the aging veterans — mostly in their 90s — from COVID-19.

Tony Vericella, the executive director of the 75th WWII Commemoration Committee, said in a phone interview Monday that the decision to limit attendance was a difficult one, but organizers are working on new ways to honor those left out in a virtual setting.

“We are going to do as many things as possible to integrate and name all of those folks who had hoped to be here,” Vericella said. “Everybody felt that the best and safest thing to do with respect to the World War II veterans coming into Hawaii from outside was really just to engage them in the best possible way virtually.”

Vericella said they were confident in local safety measures put in place for the mainland veterans once they arrived for a special flight from Oakland to Honolulu and thereafter, but the risks for those traveling from their hometowns to California was too great.

He said federal and local officials “didn't want to take that particular chance.”

In a story published early Friday, WWII veteran Jerry Pedersen, who was aboard the USS Missouri and watched the Japanese surrender, told The Associated...