U.S. and coalition troops attend a ceremony at NATO's Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, to mark the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. and coalition troops attend a ceremony at NATO's Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, to mark the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Navy Rear Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, U.S. Forces Afghanistan deputy director of intelligence, speaks at a ceremony at NATO's Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, to mark the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Navy Rear Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, right, and Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Terry Williams salute after laying a wreath at NATO's Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, to mark the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. servicemembers in Kabul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, remember those killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor at a ceremony to mark the 76th anniversary of the event. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. troops and their allies in Afghanistan marked the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at NATO headquarters on Thursday.
The event, organized by Navy personnel, continued an annual tradition at the Resolute Support base in Kabul. Servicemembers from different branches of the U.S. military, coalition troops and civilians were in attendance.
“For 76 years, we’ve remembered Pearl Harbor. We’ve remained vigilant. And today’s armed forces are ready to answer the alarm bell,” said Navy Rear Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, United States Forces — Afghanistan deputy director of intelligence.
“The United States and our allies are working here in Afghanistan to establish long-term security. This effort is possible, in part, because of the world-changing actions of those who stood their ground in Hawaii on that fateful 1941 morning and those who subsequently carried that battle flag to far off lands in defense of liberty,” Aeschbach said.
Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941,killed more than 2,400 Americans and wounded 1,200 others. The event pushed the U.S. into the World War II.
U.S. servicemembers said it still resonated with them. Some mentioned relatives who served in WWII.
“From the ashes of that war, we built a rules-based system of international laws that has endured global peace for decades,” Aeschbach told the crowd. “The United States and so many other like-minded nations are working together in this same system to maintain and build peace throughout the region.”
wellman.phillip@stripes.com Twitter: @pwwellman
