Today marks the 81st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged the U.S. into the heat of World War II.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military made a surprise raid on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 U.S. service members and civilians. More than 1,100 people were injured in the attack, which also destroyed aircraft and naval vessels, according to the National Parks Service.
For close to two hours, aircraft carrier-borne warplanes rained down on American ships and servicemen, sinking or damaging 21 U.S. warships — including the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma — destroying or damaging 347 aircraft.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs DivisionThe following day, according to USA Today, Congress would declare war on Japan, leading the U.S. into World War II. During an address to a joint session of Congress, then-President Franklin Roosevelt famously called Dec. 7, 1941 “a date which will live in infamy.”
In 1994, Congress designated Dec. 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and each year commemorations are held in Hawaii and across the country. American flags from coast to coast will be flown at half-staff in honor of the anniversary.
WTVR.com Richmond notes that the annual commemoration continues to see a declining number of veterans in attendance. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, just 167,000 of the 16 million Americans who fought in World War II are still alive.
And out of that number, very few survive today. A big factor is their age. The youngest active-duty military personnel on Dec. 7, 1941, would have been about 17, making them 98 today. Many of those still alive are at least 100, reports ABC News.
Lou Conter, 101, was a survivor of the attack while serving on the USS Arizona. Now living in California, Conter said he will not be able to attend the commemoration.
“I’m going on 102 now. It’s kind of hard to mess around,” Conter told the Associated Press.
