Pearl Harbor Day Dec. 7, 2011, marks the 70th anniversary of the attack by the Japanese on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The bombing of Pearl Harbor led to the U.S. entering World War II, as President Roosevelt declared it a date which will live in infamy.
On Wednesday about 120 survivors will join Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, military leaders and civilians for a moment of silence at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, at 7:55 a.m. to commemorate the event and honor the dead. This time marks the exact moment when Japanese planes began their attack on Dec. 7, 1941. About 3,000 people are expected to attend today's services at a site overlooking the sunken USS Arizona.
F-22 jets flown by the Hawaii National Guard will fly overhead in a missing man formation, reports FOXNews.com. Mal Middlesworth, a Marine vet who was on the USS San Francisco at the time of the bombing, is scheduled the keynote address. The ashes of five survivors will be scattered during five ceremonies this week as well.
President Obama has declared Wednesday National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. And he had some words for the Greatest Generation of Americans.
Their tenacity helped define the Greatest Generation and their valor fortified all who served during World War II. As a nation, we look to December 7, 1941, to draw strength from the example set by these patriots and to honor all who have sacrificed for our freedoms, he said.
On that day in 1941, the Japanese attacked the U.S. with 353 fights, bombers and torpedo planes; and 2,402 Americans were killed. The attack was unprecedented and came as a shock. On Dec. 8, the U.S. declared war on Japan.
The WWII generation defeated both Nazism and Fascism, ridding the world of some of the greatest evils.
Eric Golub of The Washington Times cited a quote from Winston Churchill to sum it up: Americans can be counted on to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other options.
Take a look back at photos from that infamous day and photos of some of the survivors today.
The USS SHAW explodes during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor.ReutersPearl Harbor veteran Robert Templet, who was a Radioman 1st Class at Ford Island, Hawaii during the attack, is seen outside his home in Metairie, Louisiana December 4, 2011. Templet was walking to breakfast on that Sunday, December 7, when he heard a plane motor surging at his back. He turned and saw the pilot, his goggles atop his head, smiling down at him before a torpedo fell from the plane's belly. Stories like Templet's are being documented in "Infamy: December 1941," an exhibit opening on December 7, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Photo taken December 4. ReutersPearl Harbor survivors Harold Mayo (L) and Mickey Ganitch (R) share stories with U.S. Navy Chief Nixon Galan as they tour the Arizona Memorial at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii December 5, 2011.ReutersSurvivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor wait outside before starting their tour of the Arizona Memorial at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii December 5, 2011. Some 100 aging Pearl Harbor Survivors will attend ceremonies on Wednesday on Oahu marking the 70th anniversary of the Japanese air and naval assault that claimed 2,390 American lives and drew the United States into World War Two. Picture taken December 5, 2011.ReutersUSS Arizona survivor John Richard salutes during a tour of the World War II Valor at the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii. ReutersA view of the USS ARIZONA burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii December 7, 1941. ReutersThis captured Japanese photograph shows the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941. In the distance, the smoke rises from Hickam Field. December 7, 2011 marks the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in which over 2,400 members of the United States military were killed. ReutersThe USS Arizona is seen ablaze, immediately following the explosion of its forward magazines after the Japanese attack in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941. ReutersThe USS Nevada is ablaze off the Ford Island seaplane base, with its bow pointed up-channel during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ReutersThe Hawaiian port of Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. ReutersAn aerial view of "Battleship Row" at Pearl Harbor, photographed from a Japanese aircraft, beside Ford Island, during the early part of the horizontal bombing attack on the ships moored on December 7, 1941. ReutersU.S. Navy battleship USS West Virginia ReutersPearl Harbor veteran Robert Templet, who was a Radioman 1st Class at Ford Island, Hawaii, is shown in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters December 6, 2011. Templet was walking to breakfast on Sunday, December 7, 1941 when he heard a plane motor surging at his back. He turned and saw the pilot, his goggles atop his head, smiling down at him before a torpedo fell from the plane's belly. Stories like Templet's are being documented in "Infamy: December 1941," an exhibit opening on December 7, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. ReutersLetters from U.S. prisoners of war are seen on display at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana December 4, 2011. The museum is launching a new exhibit about Pearl Harbor on December 7, the 70th anniversary of the attack. Photo taken December 4. ReutersUSS Arizona survivor Stratton salutes during a tour of the Arizona Memorial in Honolulu. Reuters
