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Gary Sinise in the USS Arizona Memorial's shrine room, where the names of those killed in Pearl Harbor are engraved on a wall of marble. Gary Sinise Foundation Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

On Dec. 7, 2023, we will mark the 82nd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor — a day that lives on in infamy. We must never forget the 2,403 service members and civilians who

died too soon that day and those from America's Greatest Generation who rose in response.

My own generation experienced the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of 2001 — almost 60 years after Pearl Harbor — that claimed almost 3,000 victims, changed all of our lives and called another

generation of heroes to answer the call on our nation’s behalf.

I had the great privilege of traveling to Pearl Harbor for the 75th anniversary, along with 75 World War II veterans, many of whom had been in Hawaii on that fateful day in 1941.

It was a profound honor to be in the presence of so many of our heroes, who were remarkably humble. I reached down to one veteran, clasped his hand and thanked him for all he had done for

our country. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and responded: “I wish I could have done more.”

The scale of the attacks was staggering — 21 vessels sunk or damaged and 188 aircraft destroyed. The living tomb of the sunken USS Arizona, the oil from which still rises to the surface each

day, stands sentry as a haunting reminder of the horrors of that fateful day.

Only a handful of Pear Harbor survivors remain with us and soon there will be no more left. In March, Pearl Harbor survivor and ace World War II pilot Jack Holder passed away at 101 years of

age. It was an honor to know him and to have traveled with him to Pearl Harbor for that memorable 75th anniversary trip.

In September, we lost Joseph Eskenazi, who was 105 and had been the oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor.