United States: 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — A handful of centenarian survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor are expected to gather at the scene in Hawaii to commemorate those who perished 81 years ago in the Japanese bombing. That’s fewer than in recent years, when a dozen or more came from across the country to pay their respects at the annual remembrance ceremony.
Part of the decline reflects the dwindling number of survivors as they age. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t have statistics for how many Pearl Harbor survivors are still living. But its data show the number of World War II veterans is rapidly declining.
Approximately 2,400 servicemen were killed in the bombing, which launched the U.S. into World War II.
The USS Arizona alone lost 1,177 sailors and Marines, nearly half the death toll.
There were about 87,000 military personnel on Oahu at the time of the attack, according to a rough estimate compiled by military historian J. Michael Wenger.
The ceremony sponsored by the Navy and the National Park Service will feature a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the attack began, and a missing-man-formation flyover.
Navy and park service officials are due to deliver remarks.
