Pearl Harbor ceremony draws handful of survivors
A handful of centenarian survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor gathered at the scene of the Japanese bombing on Wednesday to commemorate those who perished 81 years ago. That's fewer than in recent years, when a dozen or more traveled to Hawaii 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 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. About 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. The ceremony sponsored by the Navy and the National Park Service featured a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the attack began.
