Spurgeon D. Keeth, Pearl Harbor Survivor, center, U.S. Army Company “B,” 35th Infantry, 25th Division Schofield Barracks, tosses a remembrance wreath into the water during a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony today in Seaside.

SEASIDE — Veterans, dignitaries, residents and Pearl Harbor survivor Spurgeon D. Keeth gathered this morning at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Dec. 7, 1941 attack in Hawaii marked the entry of the United States into World War II. Seaside residents have gathered each year for more than 10 years to honor and remember victims. This year, Seaside resident and Pearl Harbor survivor Bill Thomas was unable to make the ceremony, but was honored in a written statement from state Sen. Betsy Johnson.

“Bill was only 20 when the world turned upside down,” Johnson wrote. “He was tested in ways many of us never are. These young men and women understand that war is not a video game … It’s a pleasure and honor to say thank you to Bill Thomas.”

Keeth, who was stationed at the U.S. Army’s Schofield Barracks on Oahu during the attack, was in the audience. The Seaside American Legion Auxiliary presented Keeth with an afghan. At the end of the ceremony, he threw a wreath into the Necanicum River from the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge.

Seaside High School student Kayla Vowels led the crowd in singing the national anthem and “God Bless America” at the ceremony, sponsored by the Seaside American Legion. Seaside City Councilor Randy Frank read the city proclamation of Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance that honored the military’s “courage, sacrifice and selfless dedication.” The master of ceremonies was Luke Thomas, Clatsop County Veterans’ Services Officer.

Guest speaker Steve Gibson, a retired U.S. Navy captain, read President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words of the attack, “a date which will live in infamy,” as well as a quote attributed to Japanese Marshal Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant.”

The military strike by Japanese aircraft against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,400 military personnel and wounded nearly 1,200. The attack led to 68 civilians killed and 103 wounded. All eight of the U.S. Navy’s battleships were damaged or sunk and 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.

More than 152,000 Oregonians served in World War II, but fewer than 13,000 of these men and women remain today, according to the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Gibson thanked the military for their service.

“For those survivors, you epitomize the strength and resolve of this great country,” he said. “As we move into the future, remember that this day remains in infamy.”

“Fundamentally, our lesson learned is that as the leader of the free world, the United States must have a strong military to deter potential invasions,” Gibson said. “Rather than encouraging war, we were trying to deter war.”

Seaside resident Jenny Ulbricht attended the ceremony because she has grandsons in the army.

“I was a child when this happened, but I do remember it,” Ulbricht said. “I hope it’s not something that young people will forget. It’s part of their history.”

Clatsop Post 12 American Legion in Astoria planned to hold a Pearl Harbor memorial and program this afternoon.