Today marks 79 years since thousands of Americans were killed in a surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

A somber ceremony was held in Suffern this weekend to honor and remember the lives lost.

The guest of honor was Pearl Harbor survivor - 99-year-old Armando "Chick" Galella.

Galella was 20-years-old, and an Army private when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. Now at 99 years old, he reflects back on that fateful day, "My heart goes out to those men in the Navy on the US Arizona. They had no chance.  Wave after wave.  It seemed like an eternity. Like it would never end."

The attack on Pearl Harbor took the lives of more than 2,400 American service members. Nearly 1,200 others were injured, launching the United States into World War II.