Seventy-five years ago, young military service members on Oahu — most of them in their teens or early 20s, and most away from home for the first time — went about their daily lives.

Their lives would change forever on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. And then their generation would change the world.

The Second World War began for the U.S. with Japan, Germany and Italy as our enemies. It ended with a victory for freedom over tyranny and fascism, turning enemies into allies and partners. The result was greater prosperity and peace.

Enemies can become friends. The best of friends, in fact.

Now, each year on and around Dec. 7, especially in Hawaii, we pause to reflect on the power of reconciliation, readiness and resiliency. This year’s theme is “Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.”

Soon we will welcome hundreds of returning Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans. Those veterans, along with their families, will be here to remember and pay tribute to their shipmates who are no longer with us.

The eyes of the world are focusing on Pearl Harbor as media from around the world visit to cover the 75th anniversary of the attack.

Our returning survivors and veterans will attend the 75th remembrance ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, hosted by the Navy and National Park Service.

The ceremony will begin at 7:55 a.m., the exact time the attack started on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago.

In planning, my top priorities for this event are to provide access to as many Pearl Harbor survivors and WWII veterans and their loved ones as we can, and to ensure the ceremony is as special and meaningful — and as safe — as it can be.

Unlike recent years, this year seating is very limited at Kilo Pier. Those who wish to attend must have an invitation or pass in advance.

Happily, we received more seat requests than expected from survivors, WWII veterans, family members and dignitaries. This perfectly aligns with the first part of the theme: “Honoring the Past … ”

Our attending WWII veterans are in their 90s, or in some cases, over 100. Many tell us this will likely be their last time to visit.

We’re eager to accommodate everyone who’d like to witness the ceremony, so with our National Parks Service partners, we planned additional seating at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. Because of the extraordinary public interest in this year’s event, we will stream the entire ceremony online (details will be published soon at https://pearlharbor75thanniversary.com/).

We look forward to sharing the ceremony with the rest of the world online. That’s in keeping with the second part of the theme: “ … Inspiring the Future.”

In recent weeks we hosted celebrities and athletes at events held to honor our veterans and commemorate the 75th anniversary. The collegiate student athletes who will visit for sporting events during the week surrounding Dec. 7 and meet the veterans, are about the same ages as the veterans were in 1941.

Media attention, athletic events and celebrity appearances have one overriding purpose: to ensure we create greater awareness and give more recognition for our World War II veterans and their great service and sacrifice.

The real celebrities are our survivors and World War II veterans.

To our tough and resilient veterans, past and present — and to those who never made it home — we owe our deepest gratitude as we honor the past to inspire the future.

Rear Adm. John Fuller is commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.