Americans, young and old, came together today to honor those who lost their lives in the 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor, which killed more than two thousand Americans and led to American involvement in World War II. At exactly 7:55 a.m. Hawaiian local time, a moment of silence was conducted by thousands who stood outside the Pearl Harbor Memorial this morning to honor and respect the lives lost.

“Over 2,400 American patriots lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor — military and civilian, men, women and children,” Barack Obama said in a statement this morning. “Their sacrifice galvanized millions of GIs and Rosie the Riveters who answered the call to defend liberty at its moment of maximum peril.”

The events of Pearl Harbor were the first and only time the US was attacked on its own soil in the 20th century. Many young lives were lost in the Japanese bombings on the prominent U.S. Naval Base and there are few survivors left to tell the story of the historic event.

“I feel like it has made the US [citizens] think that we are vulnerable,” senior Thomas Boeh said. “The world can be an evil place, but if we all come together, we can make the world a safer place.”

The mourning for Pearl Harbor has not ceased and will continue to act as an event to remember throughout history. It occurred in the midst of a world embroiled in war and contributed to shaping life in America for the past 75 years. Through the power of this event, vigilance swept over the mindsets of many and they realized that America is not impenetrable.

“[Those who fought and died] left us a warning: Remember Pearl Harbor; keep America alert and eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” Admiral Harry Harris said this morning in a speech near the site of the Honolulu bombings.