Aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Taney for yesterday's Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony, speakers said the attack 61 years ago is even more relevant today since the United States is again fighting foreign enemies after last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Pearl Harbor survivors and others said there are lessons to learn from Dec. 7, 1941, when 2,403 Americans died in the Japanese attack on U.S. forces in Hawaii.

"We gather here to remember that day, to remember those who made sacrifices on that day," said Alan Walden, master of ceremonies and co-chairman of the Baltimore Maritime Museum, of which the Taney is part. "We are at war again - a different kind of war, an unstructured war, but a war, nonetheless."

The ceremony - held annually on the Taney, the last warship afloat that survived the Pearl Harbor attack - honored those who survived and those who perished when the Japanese attacked, bringing the United States into World War II.

The Taney, a national historic landmark, is permanently docked at Pier 5 in the Inner Harbor.

"The courage and bravery they displayed in Pearl Harbor continues to serve as an inspiration to us all," Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes told the crowd.

Mayor Martin O'Malley commended the "duty, honor, courage" displayed at Pearl Harbor.

"On behalf of the people of Baltimore, I thank you," he said.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Kevin J. Eldridge, the ceremony's principal speaker, discussed the new challenges facing the Coast Guard as part of the Homeland Security Department, including helping to prevent and reduce the country's vulnerability to terrorist attacks.

"Now, as then, the path to victory will be a long one," Eldridge said, but remembering the heroism of the past is key. "It is the memory of that strength that will help us to carry on and defeat the enemies of today."

Near the end of the ceremony, a Maryland Army National Guard helicopter dropped a wreath into the harbor off the stern of the ship in remembrance of Pearl Harbor's victims.

The Coast Guard Color Guard fired a rifle salute as a bugler played taps.

After the ceremony, Pearl Harbor survivors Edward T. Robertson of Rosedale, who served in the Army, and Myrtle M. Watson of Parkville, who was an Army nurse, said the memory of Pearl Harbor is important to teach younger generations.

"It sends a message - keep America alert," said Robertson, 81, quoting the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association's motto.