But 70 years later, with most of the survivors gone Pearl Harbor Day isn't what it once was.
Maybe it's all the wars that have followed.
Maybe it's the horror of the 9-11 attacks.
Maybe it's just the memory of that day, shrouded by the fog of time.
But we don't forget this day, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and forced the U.S. to begin World War II - a war it had tried to avoid.
That's the backdrop to our 11 p.m. newscast, which will include several items about people behaving badly.
Jerry Sandusky, the retired assistant football coach at Penn State, in court again today, charged with two new molestations of young boys. His bail for victims numbers 9 and 10, set at $250,000.
Meanwhile, the Syracuse University assistant basketball coach who allegedly molested two boys cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations applies, the D-A in Onondaga County says. But in the same breath, the D-A said the allegations from the two now-grown men are credible.
Then there's former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who today was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for trying to sell an appointment to Pres. Obama's U.S. vacated Senate seat. It's one of the stiffest sentences ever for corruption in a state well-known for corruption. In fact, four Governors in as many decades have been sent to prison.
Then there's Alec Baldwin, the outspoken actor who has sparked quite a controversy over what's the proper way to behave on an airplane. Baldwin last night - kicked off a L.A.-to-New York American Airlines flight because he didn't want to turn off his Smartphone and stop playing a game known as "Words With Friends."
The dust-up has kicked up a world of debate about the rules that say passengers must turn off their electronic devices once the cabin door is shut? Does it really interfere with airline communications? And should one passenger - even if his protesting the rule turns out to be valid - delay the flight for everyone else?
And then there's the other back story: The company that makes "Words With Friends" is doing very well today, thank you very much.
Zynga, Inc., is planning an Initial Public Offering, and the publicity it's gotten from all this - well, you can't buy that. The company itself understood this last night, when it jumped on the bandwagon, putting out a Tweet, in the "Scrabble" format of its game, "Let Alex Play."
And Jamie Roth takes a fascinating look at the dilemma faced by adults - especially women it turns out - when they move to a new city. How do you make friends?
Now - a relatively new website tackles that dilemma. Jamie's report airs tonight at 11.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg with his AccuWeather forecast, which includes snow for some of the tri-state, and Laura Behnke, in for Rob Powers, with the night's sports.
I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.
Subscribe to my page on Facebook at facebook.com/billritter.wabc.
