POCATELLO — Local veterans gathered at the Pearl Harbor Bridge near the Veterans Memorial Building on Wednesday to honor those who lost their lives during the Pearl Harbor attack.

The event was conducted by Jason Dixon, Bannock County clerk. He began by recounting the events of Dec. 7, 1941. What started as a peaceful morning quickly escalated into an enemy attack.

“Dec. 7, 1941, began as a peaceful Sunday morning in Pearl Harbor,” he said. “There were alerts, but the idea of war coming to American soil was so incomprehensible that the Japanese naval fleet and air force came speedily across the ocean undetected.”

Dixon said that of all the people who died during the attack, 11 were from Idaho. These men ranged from ages 18 to 29 and were from various parts of Idaho including Boise, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls. Only one of these men’s bodies was recovered, Sergeant 1st Class William Arthur Marsh of Twin Falls.

“According to our records, Marsh was the only one from Idaho whose body was recovered,” Dixon said.

Dixon went on to tell the story of Pearl Harbor survivor and Pocatello native Christopher Harame.

“Upon his return to Pocatello after serving in the Navy, Pearl Harbor survivor Chris Harame began the honored tradition of scattering rose petals from the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge,” he said. “Honoring those who were lost on that fateful day.”

Dixon read a passage from Harame’s book describing his experience during the attack. He was assigned to the submarine USS Greenland for a time. He returned to Pocatello after the war ended when he joined the US Navy Seabees.

“We honor his memory and honor the tradition that he began today,” he said.

After Dixon finished his remarks, several people each scattered rose petals to honor the soldiers who lost their lives. There was one person scattering petals for each ship destroyed in the attack.

Melissa Hartman, Bannock County Veterans Services coordinator, said her office put the event together with the help of the Memorial Association and the Veterans Service Organization.

“I’ve been doing my job for about 23 years,” she said. “Early in my career, Chris Harame would come dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and he and his wife would play Hawaiian music. They would toss rose petals in the river.”

Hartman said scattering the rose petals was not a formal event when Harame first started the tradition.

“It was just a matter of marking the day,” she said. “It was important to him.”

Hartman said the tradition went away for a few years after Harame passed away. It was brought back last year for the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

“On the 80th anniversary, we brought it back,” she said.

Hartman said she has learned so much about Pearl Harbor from hearing the stories from people like Harame.

“I realized that we were losing history at a rapid rate,” she said. “We weren’t hearing about it from the people who made it. We have people who make history every day who live in Pocatello.”

The ceremony was held at the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge just outside the Veterans Memorial Building at 300 N. Johnson Ave.