Our nation must always remember the heroism, dedication,
and sacrifice of those who served at Pearl Harbor and in World War II.More than 2,400 Americans died and another
1,100 were wounded at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Fifteen men earned the Medal of Honor for
bravery, with 10 of them awarded posthumously, for service at Pearl Harbor.
Upon
completion of the attack, Japanese Imperial Admiral Yamamoto is quoted as
saying “We have awakened a sleeping giant and have instilled in him a terrible
resolve”.President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt called December 7th 1941 “a date which will live in
infamy”.
In 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor entered the
consciousness of Americans more forcefully than any other single event in
contemporary history and brought an immediate reaction of unprecedented unity
from the American people.
In
1942, a poster designed in remembrance of Pearl Harbor used a quotation from
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “…we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain…”.Even now, some
six decades later, Pearl Harbor remains the subject of a regular flow of
documentaries, books and articles.
On
December 7th of each year, all Americans are encouraged to fly the
flag of the United States at half-staff and to observe the date with
appropriate, solemn ceremonies in honor of those who died as a result of their
service at Pearl Harbor.
