Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) paid tribute and honor to the attacks on Pearl Harbor during a ceremony in the ship's Five Star classroom Dec. 7.

The ceremony was aimed at remembering those who lost their lives and paying tribute to their sacrifice, as well as educating Sailors about the attack.

"Today, we pay homage to those who volunteered to serve and ultimately lost their lives at Pearl Harbor," said Capt. Paul C. Spedero Jr., Ike's commanding officer. "We remember the millions that would serve over the years that followed the attack at Pearl Harbor, emboldened by that day of infamy."

At 6:00 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attack force, under the command of Adm. Chichi Nagumo, which consisted of six aircraft carriers with about 423 planes, launched the first attack wave of 183 planes against the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

About an hour prior to the attack, the planes had been detected by the island's northern shore radar system, but were believed to be returning U.S. aircraft from the West Coast.

The first Japanese wave hit Pearl Harbor at 7:53 a.m., targeting the Army airfields and battleship row. Shortly after, a second wave moved in, targeting the remaining shipyard facilities, ships and lasted until 9:45 a.m.

Of the 152 Navy ships in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, 21 of them were sunk or damaged in the attack and the next day, the United States declared war on the Japanese and entered World War II.

"Peace does not preserve itself," said Spedero. "On the 8th of December 1941, we were pressed into a war that we did not start."

The attack claimed the lives of 2,335 U.S. service men and 68 civilians.

"The Sailors lost on December 1941 were America's Navy," said Spedero. "We are now America's Navy and all of us are forged by the sea. The sea is our lifeblood. The sea sustains us, and at times, it takes from us. But we, the United States Navy, command it. In the years that followed the attacks on Pearl Harbor, our forbearers demonstrated unending courage and tenacity, and it falls upon us to live up to that legacy."

Ike Sailors, much like those 76-years-ago, continue to embody and display the four core attributes of toughness, accountability, integrity and initiative to face any challenge that comes their way.

Ike is undergoing a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard during the maintenance phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP).

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