By Paula Ratliff
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii—Thousands of people gathered here on Tuesday to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The surprise assault by the Imperial Japanese Navy on Dec. 7, 1941, carried out prior to a declaration of war, plunged the United States into World War II.
The ceremony honored the fallen, encouraged the survivors, and brought healing and closure to the 396 families who waited for their loved ones to finally be identified. A smaller group of families, 33 in all, re-interred the remains of fallen warriors who have remained unidentified despite years of effort.
The Japanese arrived quietly on a Sunday morning with dive bombers, torpedoes, and suicide planes, raining terror throughout the Island. One wave came, then a second, killing 2,402 people and wounding 1,143.
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