December 7, 1941. A date that has lived in infamy.

75 years ago today, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise military strike against the United States navy base at Pearl Harbor, awakening Yamamoto’s “sleeping giant” and precipitating the U.S. entry into World War II. Ultimately, that probably turned out to be a good thing, but tell that to the 2,403 Americans who were killed and the 1,178 who were wounded. Sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines and civilians were caught in the attack.

In 1991, American composer John Duffy was commissioned by the U.S. government to mark the 50th anniversary of the strike. The result was “A Time for Remembrance: A Peace Cantata.” Duffy dedicated the work to the memory of the victims of Pearl Harbor. Among them were the composer’s sister, brother and cousin. The texts are taken from a poem by Rupert Brooke, a speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an African American spiritual, and actual letters written by sailors aboard the USS Arizona.

We remember this afternoon, and we’ll honor a few birthday anniversaries along the way, from 4 to 7:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.