Tomorrow's commemoration of the 66th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor will be attended by fewer than 50 survivors.

But there are more observances than ever as succeeding generations take up the responsibility to "Remember Pearl Harbor."

Those remembrances will be followed up over the weekend with a "Doolittle Raider" from the famous bomber attack on Japan meeting visitors at the Pacific Aviation Museum-Pearl Harbor.

In the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. Navy suffered its greatest defeat in its history. Twenty-one ships were sunk or damaged. American dead totaled 2,390, while the Japanese lost 29 planes, 55 airmen, five midget submarines and nine crew.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Navy will host a joint memorial ceremony commemorating the 66th anniversary of the attack at Naval Station Pearl Harbor's Kilo Pier from 7:40 to 9:30 a.m.

Adm. Robert F. Willard, the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, will serve as the keynote speaker for the commemoration, and Robert K. Sutton, chief historian for the National Park Service, will serve as the featured speaker.

At 7:55 a.m., the exact moment of the attack, a moment of silence will be observed.

The Pearl Harbor-based cruiser USS Lake Erie will render honors. Hawai'i Air National Guard F-15s or Chinook helicopters will fly over the memorial in a "missing man" formation, followed by a U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber.

The commemoration is free, and a limited number of seats are open to the general public. Because of strict security measures on the Navy base, only invited guests will be allowed access in their vehicles.

The general public will be required to board U.S. Navy boats or special buses departing from the USS Arizona Memorial visitor center to be transported to Kilo Pier and the commemoration site.

Seats on the boats and buses are limited, and available on a first come, first serve basis. The first U.S. Navy boat and buses will depart from the visitor center at 6 a.m. The last boat departs at 7 a.m.

The hours of operation at the Arizona Memorial visitor center are modified for tomorrow. The first tour will be at 10:45 a.m., and the last tour is at 2:30 p.m.

Scheduled from 9:35 a.m. until 11:15 a.m. on the Arizona Memorial is a Japan Religious Committee for World Federation- Prayer for Peace, a floral tribute and wreath-laying.

The White House Commission on Remembrance will kick off Old Glory's Journey of Remembrance, a six-month journey of the stars and stripes to more than 20 states to honor the sacrifices of fallen patriots.

At noon, the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor Committee and the National Park Service will dedicate on Ford Island a memorial to the battleship's fallen sailors and Marines.

The Oklahoma suffered the second greatest loss of life during the attack, and 429 marble columns have been erected, symbolizing each of the crewmembers who lost their lives.

Advance reservations were required for special bus transportation departing from the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum adjacent to the USS Arizona Memorial, but if there are extra seats, those will be made available to the public. Bus transportation begins at 10:30 a.m.

On Saturday and Sunday, retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot on the daring B-25 bomber mission that was launched against Tokyo on April 18, 1942, from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, will be at the Pacific Aviation Museum-Pearl Harbor on Ford Island.

Cole will be available for autographs with Jonna Doolittle Hoppes, Jimmy Doolittle's granddaughter, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Find more information at www.pacificaviationmuseum.org.

For more information on the USS Arizona Memorial, go to www.nps.gov/usar.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.