Related reading:

The United States has marked the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Survivor Donald Stratton says he will never forget the nightmarish scenes he witnessed.

People mark the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., on December 7, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

"We were, the fireball got us all, we got a hold of a sailor on board the vessel and he throwed us a heaving line, which is a heavy line with a weight on it. And we tied, he tied the heavier line on it, and we pulled that across and proceeded to go hand over hand across to the vessel, 70 or 80 feet. I don't know how I made it, but I'm here."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to visit the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor at the end of December.

Observers say that Abe is not expected to apologize for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The attack claimed more than 2,400 American lives, shocking Americans, and directly leading to U.S. entry into the Second World War.