On Dec. 7, 1941, exactly 69 years ago, the United States naval base Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan.
Memorial events are being held across the country today (scroll down for updates).
More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack (listed here) and the act prompted the United States' entry into World War II.
Before Pearl Harbor, many Americans preferred to stay out of WWII. AOL News notes that when Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, most Americans "fell in line with the policy of isolationism American leaders had implemented in varying degrees since the concept was first described by Thomas Paine in his 1776 pamphlet 'Common Sense.'"
Those sentiments changed on Dec. 7, 1941. The U.S. Navy's official account of the event states:
Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before the had a chance to take off. American dead numbered 2,403. That figure included 68 civilians, most of them killed by improperly fused anti-aircraft shells landing in Honolulu. There were 1,178 military and civilian wounded.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called Dec. 7, 1941 "a date which will live in infamy" in his famous Pearl Harbor address. Watch it below:
Here is video footage from the attack at Pearl Harbor:
We're posting updates below on how Americans are commemorating Pearl Harbor Day today, 69 years later.