Remember

World War II veterand and Pearl Harbor survivor Ed Warren watches a wreath float away during a Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony in Ruskin, Florida on Dec. 7, 2006 (Mitch Traphagen File Photo)

Flags are (or at least should be) flown at half-staff today in remembrance of those lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

The attacked killed 2,402 American servicemen and wounded 1,282 others.  In all, the United States lost four U.S. Navy battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, a minelayer and 188 aircraft.

Ed Warren, a survivor of the attack, remembered during an event in Ruskin, Florida on Dec. 7, 2006:  “I was standing on the fantail of the cruiser Honolulu waiting to put the flags up,” he said of the attack.  “The bad part of it was, I had a gun on my waist, there were six Marines and none of us had any ammunition.  The topedoes were dropped within a hundred feet of us.  I can still see those pilots flying in.” 

It was a date President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed would live in infamy.  in the aftermath, 16 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Crosses, four Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one Distinguished Flying Cross, four Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars were awarded to the American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat during the attack.