Parade, ceremonies, live webcast mark Pearl Harbor Day
The 74th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was commemorated Monday with ceremonies, a parade and a host of other events from Washington, D.C., to the site of the attack in Hawaii that drew the United States into World War II.
Pearl Harbor Day honors the 2,400 people who died when the Japanese attacked the base in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, which brought a war being fought largely in Europe to U.S. soil. Flags are flown at half-staff at government locations to honor those who died, and many homes across the country display the American flag.
More than 3,000 people joined the survivors on Monday. Adm. Harry Harris, the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific, said the day "must forever remain burned into the American consciousness."
Returning to Pearl Harbor "brings back some lousy memories," said Robert Irwin of Cameron Park, Calif. But he comes to the annual ceremony because the attack was a "big thing in my life." The 91 year old served as firefighter in San Francisco after the war and retired as a lieutenant in 1979.
Irwin said he was in the barracks when the attack began and saw Japanese planes flying overhead. A fellow sailor saw a Rising Sun insignia on the wings and asked Irwin if he knew what the "red ball" was.
The seaman first class hopped on a truck that took him to the USS Pennsylvania, where he fed ammunition to the deck of the battleship.
The ceremony took place on a Navy pier overlooking the USS Arizona Memorial. The pier straddles the battleship that sank nine minutes after being hit. It remains a gravesite for many of those killed.
One part of the ceremony didn't go as planned.
The Navy destroyer USS Preble was scheduled to sound its whistle to start a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the attack began 74 years ago. Hawaii Air National Guard F-22s were due to fly overhead to break the silence about 45 seconds later.
But Navy Region Hawaii spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan said the program was running behind, and the Preble didn't sound its whistle. Fighter jets flew overhead on schedule, but the master of ceremonies was still speaking.
A moment of silence was held shortly afterward.
A live-stream of the day's events showed a special commemoration of the sinking of the USS Oklahoma with the loss of 429 crew. It also included interment in the hull of the USS Arizona of an urn with the ashes of Joseph Langdell, a former ensign on the ship. The events were sponsored by the park service, the U.S. Navy and the Pacific Historic Parks.
On Tuesday, a dive to the wreck of the Arizona by a Pacific National Monuments cultural resources chief will be broadcast live, and people can ask questions through Facebook.
President Obama issued a proclamation on Friday, saying: "We pay tribute to the men, women and children — military and civilian — who lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941, honor all who served in wake of this infamous day, and recognize the sacrifices today's service members make to carry forward the inextinguishable torch of liberty for generations to come."
Of more than 16 million U.S. servicemembers who fought in the war, fewer than 900,000 are still alive, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Contributing: The Associated Press