Reflections, wreaths mark 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor

USS Utah survivor Clark Simmons looks over the remains of the ship in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

(CNN) -- For U.S. military veterans who return to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the journey is more about a moment than a place. The sudden attack on the naval installation entombed hundreds beneath the sea and changed the lives of the survivors.

Friday marks the 60th anniversary of the Japanese attack, an event that kicked the United States off the wartime fence it was straddling and plunged the nation into World War II.

In observance of the anniversary, President Bush is expected Friday to address troops aboard the USS Enterprise during a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia. There was a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and another will be held at the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.

But as politicians lay flowers and deliver speeches, Pearl Harbor survivors share their reflections.

"My life took a different direction because of what happened," said Daniel Fruchter, a Pearl Harbor survivor. "I have become a different person because of that."

About half of the 2,400 Americans who died lost their lives on the USS Arizona. A memorial wall which lists their names hovers above the sunken ship that became their grave.

Milton Hurst, 81, was on the ship, but he was lucky. He swam ashore moments before the Arizona sank and found safety in a bomb shelter. He described his recent journey back to his refuge as a "thrill."

EXTRA INFORMATION America Remembers Pearl Harbor

World War II veteran Julian Goldman was in the Army Air Corps serving as a flight engineer in France and Germany during the war. He said the attacks at Pearl Harbor and on the home front in September coalesced a divided nation.

"It takes something like this to put the country back together again," Goldman said. Fellow WW II vet Harry Reis, who served in the Army's communications services, likes the patriotic displays that cropped up within the last three months. "I'm so glad to see the flags flying on cars, stickers, all kinds of things," he said.

Experts see similarities in the aftermath of the two attacks as well.

Historian Stephen Ambrose said both events helped bring the country together.

Before the attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the country was divided over "the biggest question of the 20th century," Ambrose said, which was whether the United States should enter World War II.

Similarly, he said, the country was divided before the September terrorist attacks.

"We voted 50-50 for the next president," Ambrose said, adding that lawmakers were arguing over taxes and what to do with the Social Security surplus. "One of the things that was notable was how much the American people today yearn for a sense of national unity and that brought it about. So there are a lot of things that happened after 12/7/41 that are happening now and will continue to happen, the most important of which is we became one people."

As hundreds of World War II veterans die each day, the 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack holds a special meaning for those who survived the assault and witnessed its unifying effect.

"We're getting older," said Emil Muschbacher, a Pearl Harbor veteran. "I don't like to admit it. We're getting weaker. And I don't know in five years if there'll be enough to put it together."