With America once again at war and young men and women in harm's way, we stop to remember what happened here at home, 64 years ago today.

The attack on Pearl Harbor shocked Americans into the realization that their comfort and security were at risk. It awakened a mighty military effort that sent echoes into history and into the very present.

For Hawai'i, the attack on Pearl Harbor woke a slumbering mid-Pacific fleet of islands and threw them violently and permanently into the 20th century and into the heart of American history.

We would never be the same again. But for all the smoke, fire, pain and despair of that day, we came out stronger and, yes, better. We remain so today.