Dec 7, 2013

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt, address to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941.

: Pearl Harbor survivor Sam Clower talks with U.S. Army Sargeant Winney Clower (R) and U.S. Army Specialist Kevin Stevens during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

: Pearl Harbor survivors salute as the USS Halsey passes the Arizona Memorial during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

: The USS Halsey passes the Arizona Memorial during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

: The headline from the Sunday Baltimore Sun on Dec. 7, 1941. (The Baltimore Sun)

: Pearl Harbor survivors embrace at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: A military honor guard takes part in a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Clark Simmons, 92, is congratulated after he spoke at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: A bugler plays Taps at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: American detroyers Downes, left, and Cassin, right, lie ruined at a Pearl Harbor dry dock while the USS Pennsylvania, flagship of the Pacific fleet, is relatively undamaged behind them during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (File photo)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Ewalt Schatz takes a picture as the USS Halsey gets ready to pass the Arizona Memorial during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

: Pearl Harbor survivors salute as the USS Halsey passes the Arizona Memorial during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

: U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Taney, observance of members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, along with veterans groups gather for memorial service and wreath tossing. (File photo/Dec. 7, 1988)

: Conferring during the joint congressional Pearl Harbor Inquiry today, are from left: Capt. Alwin D. Kramer, Adm. J.O. Richardson, and Adm. Harold R. Stark. Capt. Kramer is the naval offiver supposed to have predicted to Secretary Knox that an intercepted Tokyo message meant “A Surprise Attack On Pearl Harbor Today and Possibly a Midnight Attack on Manila.” (File photo)

: Pearl Harbor Day in Baltimore 1942. (Baltimore Sun file)

: Pearl Harbor survivors embrace at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Clark Simmons, 92, speaks under the Concorde at in a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor survivors salute during the U.S. national anthem at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: The USS California burns after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This photo shows personnel abandoning ship. (File photo)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Clark Simmons, 92, takes part in a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Clark Simmons, 92, takes part in a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor Day in Baltimore 1942. (Baltimore Sun file)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Aaron Chavin, 90, warms up with a cup of coffee at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Armando Galella, 92, helps fellow survivor Clark Simmons, 92, with his gloves at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: The US Army Color Guard stands at attention at the Arizona Memorial during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

: Pearl Harbor survivors attend a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: Pearl Harbor survivor Aaron Chavin, 90, speaks with U.S. Army Major General Margaret Boor at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: A veteran leaves a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: A wreath lies at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 2013 in New York City. Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 which killed 2,402 Americans and brought the United States into WWII. (John Moore/Getty Images)

: American aerial photo of ships at Pearl Harbor following the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Left to right, USS Maryland (inboard), USS Oaklahoma (capsized), USS Tennessee (inboard), and USS West Virginia.

: USS Arizona survivor Louis Conter salutes during the “Moment of Silence” during the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

Pearl Harbor survivors to commemorate attack that drew U.S. into World War Two
By Malia Mattoch McManus

HONOLULU (Reuters) – American survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, many of them in their 90s, gathered on Saturday near Honolulu to mark the anniversary of the attack in 1941 that took the lives of more than two thousand of their peers and thrust the United States into World War Two.

Four Pearl Harbor survivors from the New York area also gathered with former crew members of the USS Intrepid to mark the Japanese surprise attack.

Some 50 survivors will take part in the 72nd commemoration of Dec. 7, according to Eileen Martinez, Chief of Interpretation for the USS Arizona Memorial.

“They are in their twilight years, so now is the time to honor them and thank them for their service,” she said. “This is our most important day at Pearl Harbor.”

Civilian witnesses from the island of Oahu as well as World War Two veterans and their families will gather at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center to remember the surprise assault by

Japanese air and naval forces that claimed roughly 2,400 American lives.

Nearly half of those who perished were sailors aboard the battleship USS Arizona, which Japanese torpedo bombers sank early in the attack, sending 1,177 of its 1,400-member crew to their deaths.

The USS Arizona Memorial, built over the wreckage of the ship, now forms a centerpiece of the World War Two Valor in the Pacific National Monument, an historic site administered by the National Park Service.

As has been the practice in previous years, veterans, relatives and visiting dignitaries will bow their heads for a moment of silence on Wednesday at 7:55 a.m., the time when the attack began.

A guided missile destroyer will render honors to the USS Arizona, and a flyover will take place.

Besides the Americans who perished, 1,178 were wounded. A dozen U.S. warships were sunk or heavily damaged in the attack which also destroyed 323 aircraft, badly crippling the Pacific fleet.

Remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor

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