Pearl Harbor Pictures 2016: 75th Anniversary Photos Show Pain, Loss Of Historic Attack

Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, or, “a day that would live on in infamy.”

The event is remembered annually on Dec. 7, with speeches, live events and a parade that takes place every year in Hawaii to honor those who had served in World War II and those who perished in the massive attack at the Honolulu harbor and military base.

The Pearl Harbor attack that took place on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 was the catalyst that plunged the U.S. into the Second World War and was a deadly event that became forever seared into the country’s history.

The 75th remembrance will be marked by a historic moment. President Barack Obama will be meeting with Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe later this month on Dec. 27 in Honolulu, according to a statement issued by the White House press secretary. The event will mark the first time a major Japanese leader has visited the landmark site of the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, a memorial that commemorates the site where more than 2,400 lives were claimed by the Japanese decades prior during the attacks.

“The two leaders’ visit will showcase the power of reconciliation that has turned former adversaries into the closest of allies, united by common interests and shared values,” the press secretary said in the statement issued Monday.

Obama paid a visit to Hiroshima, Japan to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial last May to offer peace on behalf of the U.S. The event marked the first time a U.S. president visited the site, which stood to remember the devastation of the U.S.’ 1945 atomic bombing of Japan.

“Seventy-one years ago, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed,” Obama had said in his speech at the memorial service. “Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us,” the president had added.

In honor of the historic event and in remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks, here is a look at the memorial services and photos from years past. This year's theme “will be a brighter future on our relationship with Japan and the celebration of 71 years of peace between us,” the Pearl Harbor anniversary website stated.