US Remembers Pearl Harbor, 70 Years Later

On Wednesday the United States marks the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the "Day of Infamy" that catapulted the country into World War II.

Memorial events marking the December 7, 1941 attack are being held throughout the country, the largest being on the Pacific island of Oahu, Hawaii, where the attack took place.

Pearl Harbor Facts Dec. 7, 1941 130 vessels of the U.S. Pacific fleet are anchored at Pearl Harbor. 7:55 a.m. First wave of Japanese aircraft arrives.  8:10 a.m. USS Arizona explodes after armor-piercing shell strikes forward ammunition magazine. Casualties 1,177 U.S. sailors and marines on USS Arizona are killed, about 333 survive. Aftermath The USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and USS Utah are lost in the attack. Remainder of the fleet is salvaged and returns to action later in the war. Today Each year more than one million people visit the USS Arizona Memorial, constructed over the remains of the battleship.

A dwindling number of Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans are among the 3,000 attendees expected at the event overlooking the USS Arizona Memorial, where the submerged remains of the fallen battleship rest. A moment of silence will be held at 7:55 in the morning (UTC 17:55), the exact moment Japan's Imperial Navy began the surprise attack.

In Washington, a wreath-laying ceremony is being held - in the afternoon local time - at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. 

In a statement marking the day, U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to those whose died, saying that "their tenacity helped define the greatest generation."

The attack by the Japanese on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was unprovoked. Four U.S. battleships sank or capsized, several hundred warplanes were destroyed and more than 2,400 service men, women and civilians died. It was the most devastating foreign attack on U.S. soil until September 11, 2001.

Many Americans draw a comparison between the attack on Pearl Harbor and the attacks on September 11, 2001.  A spokesman for the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard says the comparison keeps the memory of Pearl Harbor alive for a new generation. 

"And always in the context of 9/11 you'll almost always hear a reference to - this was our generation's, this generation's Pearl Harbor," said public affairs officer Kerry Gershaneck. "So, I think the memory of Pearl Harbor is eternal as long as this nation endures."

The U.S. declared war on Japan the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. On December 11, 1941, Japan's Axis partners Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S., marking the nation's entry into the global conflict.  ---VOA News