Local high school honors graduate who died in Pearl Harbor attac - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

Chippewa Falls (WQOW) - A local high school remembers those from Wisconsin who were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Harry Kramer graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in 1938.  "He was actually on the U.S.S. California Battleship when a couple of bombs hit the ship and unfortunately, he passed away," Chippewa Falls Teacher John Kinville explains.  "He was one of the first Wisconsin men to actually be killed in World War II."

Kramer was one of 56 service members from Wisconsin killed on December 7th, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  "We planted 56 American flags in front of the school, one for each of the members of the Wisconsin military who died at Pearl Harbor on that day," Kinville says.

19 students spent one lunch period each week researching the names of the fallen and in June, those students will be going to Pearl Harbor themselves.  "Whenever you can extend learning out of the classroom and into the real world, that's what it's all about," smiles Kinville.

"Recreating the lives of the Wisconsin soldiers and then seeing who they are and going to see where they died is just really important to us," says Mariah Meyers, a senior at Chippewa Falls High School who is going along on the trip.

Students raised money for the trip through candy sales and car washes.  They will be accompanied on the trip by faculty members and other chaperons.