Pearl Harbor survivor Al Stillwaggon

NEWBURGH – The Day that Will Live in Infamy was commemorated Monday across the Hudson Valley, this time on the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese during World War II.

A large group of people, mostly retired military service personnel and baby boomers, attended a ceremony on the Newburgh waterfront, which included prayers, speeches and music by the New York Military Academy Band.

New York Senator William Larkin, who was 15 at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, enlisted three years later, and went on to serve a full career in the Army.

He said we should never forget the men and women who lost their lives in the attack on the Hawaiian naval base in 1941.

Guest speaker Maj. Gen. (ret.) Thomas Maguire noting the tragedy of the day, likened it to September 11, 2001, when terrorists brought down the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, by crashing three airplanes.

Maguire is a former adjutant general of the State of New York and before that, served as commander of the Air National Guard Base at Stewart Airport.