COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered U.S. and Ohio flags to be flown at half-staff on Saturday in honor of the lives lost on Dec. 7, 1941, in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Following orders from the president, DeWine has ordered the federal and state flags to be lowered upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Ohio. The order will be in effect all day on Dec. 7, 2024. 

View of battleship row as explosions damage three American battleships during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. From left to right, the USS West Virginia, the USS Tennessee, and the USS Arizona. (Photo by US Navy/Interim Archives/Getty Images)

This year will mark the 83rd anniversary of Japan’s strike on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii. More than 3,500 service members and civilians were among the dead and wounded, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The event was pivotal in World War II, with the United States entering the conflict within hours of the destruction.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously described Dec. 7 as “a date which will live in infamy” in his address to America. Now known as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, ceremonies are held across the U.S. in recognition of the lives lost and the survivors.

On April 1, 2024, retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Louis “Lou” Conter, the last remaining crew member who served on the USS Arizona during the attack, died. He was 102.