Remembering Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941: "
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous address to the nation in which he refers to Dec. 7, 1941, as “a date which will live in infamy” can be seen below:
Via AOL News - (Dec. 7) — It lives on in infamy.
On Dec. 7 each year, Americans commemorate Pearl Harbor Day in memory of the thousands who were killed or injured when the Japanese attacked an American naval base in Hawaii that day in 1941.
The attack is frequently cited as a major turning point in World War II. In his book “Smart Power,” foreign policy expert Ted Galen Carpenter gives his take on the significance of the event. Carpenter writes:
Pearl Harbor plunged America into the maelstrom of World War II, a struggle that involved the core security interests of the republic and symbolized rival visions for the future of the planet. Japan and its allies were making a bid for dominance in their respective regions and beyond. Had they succeeded, there would have been a major shift in the global balance of power — to the extreme detriment of the United States.
According to the National Park Service‘s website:
- 2,388 Americans died in the attack
- 1,178 Americans were wounded
- 21 American ships were sunk or damaged
- 323 American aircraft were destroyed or damaged
- 1,177 Americans involved in the attack were serving on the USS Arizona
- 333 servicemen serving on the USS Arizona survived the attack
Pearl Harbor Day is not a federal holiday, but the day is often commemorated in U.S. schools. In addition, flags around the country are lowered to half-staff.
A video of survivors returning to Pearl Harbor can be found here.
We must never forget.
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