Traverse City -- Joe Salatino still remembers the hectic scene inside his barracks 68 years ago.
"There was a lot of commotion," said Salatino, 89, of Traverse City. "Everybody was running around."
Salatino was stationed at New Jersey's Fort Hancock on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese crews attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, ultimately launching the country into World War II.
Radios echoed the news through Salatino's barracks -- "This is no joke. This is war."
The attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in the deaths of more than 2,400 Americans, and nearly 1,200 were wounded, according to U.S. Department of Defense records.
And while the attack occurred thousands of miles away, Salatino said soldiers at Fort Hancock quickly began "preparing for the worst."
"They had mentioned there were some German submarines off the coast," said Salatino, who was 21 at the time. "Others were making sure the guns were stocked and ready to go."
Fort Hancock avoided a Dec. 7 attack, but the United States declared war on Japan a day later.
"They were looking for an excuse to get us in, and this was it," Salatino said.
Salatino was deployed to Europe after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and served tours of duty in 14 countries.
Today, Salatino will look back on "a date that will live in infamy," and ultimately changed Salatino's military career.
He's attended Pearl Harbor memorial services in New York and Texas, but today he will spend it with fellow World War II veterans in Traverse City.
"We'll never forget Pearl Harbor, never," he said.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Cherryland Post 2780 will host a flag ceremony at noon outside their post, said Michael Dickinson, VFW assistant service officer.
Anniversaries like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 deserve to be remembered by soldiers and civilians, said Paul Smith, president of Forgotten Eagles of Michigan Chapter 6.
"They're one in the same when you think about it," Smith said. "They were both surprise attacks on the United States. They kind of mirror themselves. A nation that does not remember their history is soon to repeat it."
Smith was not born when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, but said his father "rushed to join the Marine Corps" after Dec. 7.
"The whole nation practically did," Smith said. "Thousands of people lined up to join. Everybody saw the need to help, much like what happened after 9/11."
