US observes 80th anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor

(HRNW ) – The United States will mark the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Tuesday.

The attack on Dec. 7, 1941, shook a country that had been so focused on World War Two in Europe that it had lost sight of the threat posed by Japan, according to historians.

The attack killed 2,390 Americans, and the United States declared war on Japan the next day.

On a rainy Monday evening, a memorial ceremony was held at Pearl Harbor to honor the 58 servicemen who died aboard battleship USS Utah, the first ship hit in the attack.

“On the morning of December 7, 1941, in the first few minutes of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Utah was hit by two torpedoes, which caused serious flooding,” said U.S. Navy Commander Jason Adams.