Members of the Hampton Roads community gathered to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor during a memorial service, Dec. 7, at Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek-Fort Story.

Three survivors of the attack were present to honor the sacrifices of their fallen comrades and the survivors who have passed on since.

"The events of December 7th, 1941 are well documented," said Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces. "That day, our nation's resolve was cemented, and the history of the world was forever altered."

Capt. Quinn Skinner, executive officer of JEB, paid tribute to the sacrifice of the World War II generation who responded to the attack.

"This team is honored to recognize our local heroes who not only survived that attack in 1941, but who rose to the challenge before them," said Skinner. "They remain our country's greatest generation and are great heroes and great Americans."

During the ceremony each survivor in attendance "called out," stating their name and rank. Children of Pearl Harbor survivors also called out the names and ranks of the survivors that passed on in the recent years.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor, 2,335 service members were killed, more than 1,000 were wounded, and 16 ships were either sunk or damaged.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce that out of the 84,168 uniformed personnel on the island at the time of the attack, our current count, as close as our current information suggests, shows that we have approximately 2,300 members that were there at the time who are still alive and are on the right side of the earth," said Bill Muehleib, a Pearl Harbor veteran.

The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute, the placing of a commemorative wreath, and the survivors leading all in attendance singing "God Bless America."

For more news from U.S. Fleet Forces Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.