O’FALLON, Mo. – Thursday marks 82 years since Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Surviving World War II veterans are urging Americans to learn the solemn history of that day.

Locally, a large crowd gathered at the Mid America Veterans Museum in O’Fallon for a memorial service. That included reading the names of service members killed during the attack.

There was also a memorial service in Swansea, Illinois. It took place just before noon at the John Messinger Cemetery on Old Collinsville Road. That’s where America’s first Pearl Harbor monument was installed.