Pearl Harbor Ceremony Marks Bombing Anniversary

(AP) Pearl Harbor ceremony marks bombing anniversary
By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii
About 2,500 gathered at Pearl Harbor on Saturday to remember those killed in the 1941 Japanese attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.

The crowd observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the bombing began 72 years ago.

A vintage World War II-era airplane _ a 1944 North American SNJ-5B _ flew overhead to break the silence. The Hawaii Air National Guard has used its fighter jets and helicopters to perform the flyover for many years, but federal budget cuts prevented it from participating this year.

About 50 survivors returned to Pearl Harbor for the ceremony.

The Navy and National Park Service co-hosted the ceremony, which was open to the public. Their theme for the event, “Sound the Alarm,” explores how Americans answered a call to duty in the wake of the attack.

The current U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., said the U.S. remembers the warning from those who survived.

Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia will deliver the keynote address.

The Vietnam War veteran is currently secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is responsible for managing overseas cemeteries for fallen American troops.

Later in the day, Pearl Harbor survivors will join military and government officials in a parade through Waikiki.