It is the 62nd anniversary of the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian bastion which brought on America's entry into World War II.

For the present generation, it was just another date to add to the many already existing in school history books. For those of our generation, it was a somber reflection on the infamous act that changed our lifestyles.

Almost a hundred Shenango Valley servicemen were stationed in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, the day of the attack, and experienced the horror first-hand. It made an indelible impression on their lives.

Thousands more from this area passed through in the ensuing war years, on the way to other battle assignments with the Army, Navy or Marines. The grim picture of destruction that greeted them was cause to remember.

I recall arriving in Hawaii less than three months after the attack. Riding with 30 other GIs in the back of an open troop truck on the way to the staging area where we were to receive our assignments, there was utter silence as we passed the main destructive areas along the 25-mile trip. Mouths were agape in unbelievable wonderment.

Hickam Field, the Air Force defender of the islands, was in shambles. Hangars were torn to shreds. Bits of fighter planes and bombers appeared in pocked sections of what once were smooth runways.

The most disheartening phase of the entire trip was as we passed adjacent Pearl Harbor, which bore the brunt of the assault. The wreckage of the battered warships still clogged the harbor. The USS Arizona, the Utah, the West Virginia still showed above the water as grim reminders of the infamy.

The awesome trail led past Wheeler Air Force Base, which befell the same fate that day as Hickam Field. Then past Schofield Barracks whose cement housing quadrangles showed signs of being riddled by bullets in strafing fire.

Hawaii since has made complete recovery from the holocaust. With most of the past forgotten, it has thrived as a tourist haven. Except for those who lost loved ones, time has erased many of the hurts.

Today, in Pearl Harbor, a modern monument has been built over the hulk of the sunken USS Arizona, the last reminder of the "Day of Infamy." A large wall of the memorial lists the name of all who died on the ship.

In the times I have been there since, I seem to look past the monument to stacks that show through the water below and still envision the doomed battleship as it appeared battered and listing as I first passed the harbor.

That is why I will never forget Pearl Harbor.

Wally Wachter is a retired managing editor of The Herald.