Remembering Pearl Harbor, 70 years later

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Seventy years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of people, including about 120 survivors, are expected to return to Hawaiian island of Oahu to pay their respects to the Americans who died on Dec. 7, 1941.

An anniversary commemoration will be held early Wednesday at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, which looks out onto the USS Arizona Memorial. About 120 survivors of the Japanese attack — which killed 2,400 Americans, sunk 12 ships and destroyed 188 aircraft — are expected to attend.

At 7:55 a.m. local time (9:55 a.m. PST), the time the attack began, a moment of silence will be observed and a Navy ship will render honors to the USS Arizona, followed by a “missing man” formation flight over the memorial.

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Later Wednesday, the USS Oklahoma Memorial Executive Committee will dedicate a memorial marker at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

The commingled remains of 335 USS Oklahoma sailors are interred in graves at the cemetery. The memorial marker will be dedicated in memory of the “unknowns” killed during the attack.

Wednesday’s ceremony is a part of a week of activities and tributes to commemorate the 70th anniversary. All the events will be held at the year-old, $56-million Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. The 17-acre campus, operated by the National Park Service, features a museum, movie theaters and exhibits.

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--Stephen Ceasar