BECKLEY -
On the day that will live in infamy, some new relics with a West Virginia connection go on display at a local war museum.
The Raleigh County Veterans Museum on Harper Road was open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 7 as a part of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The U.S.S. West Virginia was one of the battleships that was sunk in the surprise attack by the Japanese.
The veterans museum director, Jim Toler, has a number of relics from the battleship on display, including three new items.
The first is a flag that flew on the bow of the "Wee Vee" during the attack. Toler said the flag staff actually fell onto the U.S.S. Tennessee which was next to the West Virginia. A crewman from that ship recovered the flag.
Another new relic is the hat that Lt. Claude Rickets wore during the attack. Rickets' quick action prevented the U.S.S West Virginia from rolling over as the ship flooded from more than nine hits by enemy bombs and torpedoes.
The other new artifact is a trigger from one of the ships 16-inch guns. Toler said these guns actually fired shells at the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Toler said it is important to remember what happened at Pearl Harbor so that attacks like that don't happen again.
"Most veterans will tell you that the ordinary citizen simply comes to say, it's as though it never happened, and they forget," said Toler. "That can be a colossal problem. 9-11, I think, proved that."
If you want to get a look at the new artifacts and the many other pieces in the collection the veterans museum is open throughout the winter on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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