Obama lays wreath at Pearl Harbor memorial
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President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle Obama, second from right, take flowers to drop into the water at the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, with Admiral Robert Willard and his wife Donna Willard, left, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle Obama, second from right, stand together after dropping flowers into the water at the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Admiral Robert Willard and his wife Donna Willard stand at left, (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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President Barack Obama lays a wreath at the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama laid a wreath at a memorial honoring those killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The president was joined at the USS Arizona Memorial by his wife, Michelle, late Thursday afternoon. After a moment of silence, the Obamas scattered flower petals in the water.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,390 Americans and brought the United States into World War II.
The president is in Hawaii for his annual Christmas vacation. Several White House staffers who traveled to the Honolulu area with Obama joined the president at the Pearl Harbor memorial.
Earlier Thursday, Obama took his family to the beach, then stopped for shave ice, a Hawaiian version of the snow cone.
