IGX

About 2,500 people gathered at Pearl Harbor on Saturday to remember those killed in the 1941 Japanese attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.

The crowd observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the bombing began 72 years ago.

A vintage World War II-era airplane — a 1944 North American SNJ-5B — flew overhead to break the silence. The Hawaii Air National Guard has used its fighter jets and helicopters to perform the flyover for many years, but federal budget cuts prevented it from participating this year.

About 50 survivors returned to Pearl Harbor for the ceremony.

“I come back to be with my comrades — meet the ones who are still alive, and we're going fast,” said Delton Walling, who was assigned to the battleship Pennsylvania at the time of the attack.