U.S. Observes Pearl Harbor Day, Reflecting on 1941 Attack

The United States on Saturday marked Pearl Harbor Day, observed each year on Dec. 7 to honor the lives lost during the 1941 attack that thrust the nation into World War II. Just before 8 a.m. that morning, Japanese forces launched a surprise strike on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii, killing more than 2,400 Americans and destroying or damaging dozens of ships and aircraft. President Franklin D. Roosevelt later called it “a date which will live in infamy” as he asked Congress to declare war. Ceremonies across the country typically honor survivors and remember those who died in the attack.