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    December 07, 2011

Remembering Pearl Harbor, 70 Years Later

   VOA News
   Pearl Harbor survivors George Richard (L) and Charlie Boswell talk
   about where they were on December 7, 1941 as they tour the Arizona
   Memorial at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in
   Honolulu, Hawaii December 5, 2011. Photo: Reuters
   Pearl Harbor survivors George Richard (L) and Charlie Boswell talk
   about where they were on December 7, 1941 as they tour the Arizona
   Memorial at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in
   Honolulu, Hawaii December 5, 2011.

   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.
   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.

   Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

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