The Latest: Pearl Harbor survivors reconnect at ceremony

Laura Stoller accompanied her adoptive grandfather, a Pearl Harbor survivor, to the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Before the ceremony, the two watched crowds of people jostling to get autographs from the survivors and pose for photos with them.

Thousand gathered at Pearl Harbor bowed their heads for a moment of silence as a remembrance ceremony for those killed in the Japanese attack 75 years ago got underway.

Wednesday's ceremony is being held on a pier across the harbor from where the USS Arizona sank during the raid, killing 1,177 sailors and Marines.

Later, Mapou shattered a leg during the war when a kamikaze plane sunk his ship and cut it in half between Okinawa and Japan.

Obama said "we can never repay the profound debt of gratitude we owe to those who served on our behalf."

Thousands, including servicemen and women and members of the public, are expected to attend a ceremony at Pearl Harbor on Wednesday to mark the anniversary.