LOS ANGELES: With speeches and salutes, veterans and officials on Saturday commemorated the 78th anniversary of the 1941 sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, which brought a previously reluctant United States into World War II.
A ceremony in Hawaii honoring survivors was attended by US Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Washington´s ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris. It was held within sight of the sunken USS Arizona, which was bombed in the opening moments of the attack that killed more than 2,400 Americans.
Later in the day, the remains of Lauren Bruner, who died in September aged 98 and was among the last sailors rescued from the Arizona after it exploded into flames, was interred in the wreckage. Bruner had expressed in years past his wish to be buried alongside fellow sailors who died on that fateful day. "This is the last surviving crewman of the USS Arizona being returned to his ship and his shipmates," Pearl Harbor National Memorial spokesman Jay Blount said.
Bruner will be the 44th USS Arizona survivor interred on the ship. The remaining three living sailors who survived the attack will be laid to rest with their families.