President Obama marks 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor attack

Eugene Scott
By Eugene Scott, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 1:05 PM EST, Wed December 7, 2016
A rescue boat retrieves a seaman from the burning USS West Virginia after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
A rescue boat retrieves a seaman from the burning USS West Virginia after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Library of Congress
Smoke and flames rise from the USS Shaw.
Smoke and flames rise from the USS Shaw.
Library of Congress
Crewmen of a Japanese aircraft carrier prepare fighter planes before the raid on Pearl Harbor.
Crewmen of a Japanese aircraft carrier prepare fighter planes before the raid on Pearl Harbor.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
This is believed to be an image of the first bomb on Pearl Harbor; it shows a Japanese plane pulling out of a dive near the explosion.
This is believed to be an image of the first bomb on Pearl Harbor; it shows a Japanese plane pulling out of a dive near the explosion.
AP
An aerial view of the harbor shows the destruction of the USS California, the USS Maryland, the USS Oklahoma, the USS Tennessee, the USS West Virginia and the USS Arizona.
An aerial view of the harbor shows the destruction of the USS California, the USS Maryland, the USS Oklahoma, the USS Tennessee, the USS West Virginia and the USS Arizona.
Corbis/Getty Images
Airmen at Hickam Field watch as bombs explode. The Hickam Field airbase was heavily targeted during the attack, and Japanese bombers sought to prevent counter-attacks from US forces by disabling American planes on the ground.
Airmen at Hickam Field watch as bombs explode. The Hickam Field airbase was heavily targeted during the attack, and Japanese bombers sought to prevent counter-attacks from US forces by disabling American planes on the ground.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Smoke envelops the USS Arizona before it sank.
Smoke envelops the USS Arizona before it sank.
AP
A US Army aircraft lands at Hickam Field on December 7. The base sustained heavy losses during the attack.
A US Army aircraft lands at Hickam Field on December 7. The base sustained heavy losses during the attack.
Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty Images
A fire spreads through the Army barracks at Hickam Field.
A fire spreads through the Army barracks at Hickam Field.
AP
Oil burns on the ocean's surface near the Naval Air Station.
Oil burns on the ocean's surface near the Naval Air Station.
VCG Wilson/Corbis/Getty Images
Smoke from burning oil billows over Hickam Field.
Smoke from burning oil billows over Hickam Field.
AP
A Japanese plane plummets in flames after it was hit by US anti-aircraft.
A Japanese plane plummets in flames after it was hit by US anti-aircraft.
AP
The USS California settles on the bottom of the harbor after being bombed and torpedoed by the Japanese.
The USS California settles on the bottom of the harbor after being bombed and torpedoed by the Japanese.
Library of Congress
Wives of US military officers return to their residences after an explosion at Pearl Harbor.
Wives of US military officers return to their residences after an explosion at Pearl Harbor.
Mary Naiden/AP
Crowds gather in New York's Times Square as news bulletins about the attack flash across the New York Times building.
Crowds gather in New York's Times Square as news bulletins about the attack flash across the New York Times building.
Robert Kradin/AP
Day of infamy: Attack on Pearl Harbor

Story highlights

Over 2,400 American patriots lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor

"I look forward to visiting the USS Arizona Memorial later this month," Obama said

CNN  — 

President Barack Obama marked the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Wednesday by honoring those who gave their lives that day.

“Over 2,400 American patriots lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor – military and civilian, men, women and children,” Obama said in a statement.

“Their sacrifice galvanized millions of GIs and Rosie the Riveters who answered the call to defend liberty at its moment of maximum peril. In the hours after the attack, President Roosevelt promised that ‘the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.’ Thanks to the heroism of a generation, we did.”

The President noted that he would be making a historic visit to the USS Arizona Memorial later this month with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“As a testament that even the most bitter of adversaries can become the closest of allies, I look forward to visiting the USS Arizona Memorial later this month along with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” he said. “This historic visit will stand as a tribute to the power of reconciliation and to the truth that the United States and Japan – bound by an alliance unimaginable 75 years ago—will continue to work hand-in-hand for a more peaceful and secure world.”

Abe is the first Japanese leader to visit the site since the end of World War II.

“President Obama’s message for the world without nuclear upon his visit to Hiroshima was engraved in the heart of the Japanese people,” Abe said earlier this month. “I will visit Pearl Harbor with President Obama. This will be a visit to soothe the souls of the victims. We should never repeat the ravages of the war.”

In May, Obama was the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima, where in 1945 the US military dropped a nuclear bomb killing more than 100,000 Japanese men, women and children.

Abe’s visit to Pearl Harbor is thought to be a way of reciprocating the commitment shown by Obama to Japan-US relations.

President-elect Donald Trump called those who sacrificed their lives at Pearl Harbor “brave Americans.”

“Today we are the bearers of the torch of freedom these brave Americans passed on to us. In honor of their faithfulness, and for the sake of generations to come, we will never allow that flame to be extinguished,” he said.

The President-elect noted that the US and Japan are no longer at odds, and said America’s quest for peace must continue.

“America’s enemies have changed over the past 75 years. But the fact remains, as President Reagan said when first proclaiming National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, ‘there can be no substitute for victory’ in the pursuit of peace,” he said.