HONOLULU, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Around 3,500 people, including some 400 survivors, lined Kilo Pier in Hawaii to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
A light rain fell Thursday as the poignant ceremony marked by age and respect got under way near where the mighty USS Arizona went down to become forever a grim symbol of that day of death, Dec. 7, 1941, that thrust the United States into World War II.
Survivors, most of them in the 80s and 90s, were there for what could be their last hurrah, some saluting from wheel chairs, others standing aided by walkers, the Honolulu Advertiser said.
In his keynote address, former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw told his audience, "It was here that the greatest generation was forged."
Brokaw said the attack was at Pearl Harbor but everyone on the mainland felt "wounded and outraged" and eager to sacrifice to help the war effort.
"It was end of innocence and the beginning greatness for your generation," he said.
