Arizona survivor to address Pearl Harbor gathering in St. Paul

Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
Updated: December 4, 2009 - 7:54 PM

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A Pearl Harbor survivor from Mille Lacs County will talk about his role on that historic day during an observance next week on the 68th anniversary of the attack.

Ed Wentzlaff, 92, of Milaca is scheduled to make brief remarks Monday morning during a Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony at the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul.

The event begins at 10 a.m. and will include a rifle salute, brief remarks by Wentzlaff, who served on the USS Arizona, and refreshments.

He was one of 335 men who survived the sinking of the Arizona. More than 1,100 others on board were killed. His three-year enlistment was scheduled to end the next day, and he had planned to leave the Navy and open a resort in Wisconsin, he said in an interview published online by the Minnesota American Legion and Auxiliary.

Minnesota holds a historic place in the history of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.

Naval reservists, largely from St. Paul, were aboard the destroyer USS Ward and were patrolling near the entrance to Pearl Harbor that morning. They encountered a Japanese midget submarine and sank it. These were the first American shots of World War II. A few hours later, the Japanese attacked the Pacific Fleet from the air.

The USS Ward's No. 3 gun, which fired the shot, sits on the State Capitol grounds near the Veterans Service Building.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482