Release
ARDMORE — The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) will host a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at 12 p.m. at the Seaman First Class Billy Turner Veterans Cemetery, located at 1555 Myall Street in Ardmore, Okla.
The ceremony will honor the 2,403 service members and civilians who died during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. It will also recognize Seaman First Class Billy Turner, namesake of the state veterans cemetery, for his service aboard the USS Oklahoma.
The ceremony will acknowledge the loss of the USS Oklahoma and its crew. The ship capsized 13 minutes after the first torpedo struck. The ceremony will last 13 minutes to reflect that timeline. At 12:08 p.m. —corresponding to 8:08 a.m. in Hawaii, the moment the USS Oklahoma sank—Taps will sound in honor of the 429 sailors and Marines who died, including Seaman First Class Billy Turner.
“Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day allows us to honor those who served and died,” said Jamee Cassity, Director of Memorial Affairs. “By recognizing Seaman First Class Billy Turner and those who died aboard the USS Oklahoma, we continue to share their history and ensure their service is remembered.”
The public may attend. A program announcement will be made at the ceremony regarding a one-year time capsule project that will be sealed on the 85th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in 2026 and opened on the 100th anniversary in 2041. Media representatives are welcome.