Territorians will gather on February 19 to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin.
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On this day in 1942, mainland Australia came under attack for the first time when Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin.
The attacks involved 54 land-based bombers and approximately 188 attack aircraft.
More than 240 people were killed in the raids and between 300 and 400 were injured.
Minister for Veterans Affairs, Paul Kirby, said the Bombing of Darwin Anniversary was one of the "most significant and symbolic days" of the Northern Territory calendar, and represented an important date for all Territorians to reflect.
"Marking the day war hit Australian shores for the first time, February 19 is a date which nationally recognises the geographical, military and strategic importance Darwin holds in Australia and the world," he said, urging Territorians "to do what they can" to commemorate what was one of the darkest days in Territory and Australian History, and to recognise those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
In the attack 81 years ago, the USS Peary was sunk in Darwin Harbour, killing 92 servicemen aboard the ship in the greatest loss of life on any of the ships sunk in the raid.
A memorial service will be held at the USS Peary Memorial at Bicentennial Park in Darwin from 8.15am to 9am, followed by the annual Bombing of Darwin commemorative service at the Darwin Cenotaph from 9.30am.
Two RAAF TINDAL-based F-35A Lightning II aircraft from No. 75 Squadron will conduct a low-level flypast over the Esplanade at 10am, as mark of respect for the Bombing of Darwin commemoration.
Royal Australian Patrol Boat HMAS Maryborough and soldiers from the 8th and 12th Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery will also take part in an re-enactment.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the events on February 19 were an "unprecedented attack on home soil".
"The anniversary is a day to reflect on our past, and pay tribute to those servicemen and women, and civilians who lost their lives while courageously defending our country," she said.
"In commemorating this day we are also passing the story onto the next generation, and keeping memory alive."
The bombing of Darwin, on 19 February 1942, was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia during WWII.
On that day, in two separate raids, 242 Japanese aircraft attacked Darwin in an attempt to prevent the Allies using the harbour and airfields as a base from which to contest the invasion of Timor and Java.
The 250 people killed in Darwin that day included members of all three Australian services, civilians including Indigenous Australians, Dutch merchant seamen and many American sailors and airmen.
Former US-President Barack Obama said that, in a sense, it was in Darwin that the Australian-American alliance was born, "in Australia's Pearl Harbor".
Every year, the anniversary is a day to reflect on Australia's past and pay tribute to those servicemen and women, and civilians who lost their lives while courageously defending our country.
Visitors to the Bombing of Darwin museum - at the RFDS Darwin Tourist Facility at Stokes Hill Wharf - can relive the horror of the attacks on Darwin Harbour via state-of-the-art virtual reality.
The museum offers half-price entry until February 20.