Our Nation Remembers Pearl Harbor

Our Nation Remembers Pearl Harbor

Reported By RET C.Brock December 7, 2020

Photo credit: US Navy

Today is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, marking the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack against the United States at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise attack from several aircraft carriers, striking US Naval Forces at Pearl Harbor and across the island of O’ahu that morning.

We remember the 2,403 Americans who lost their lives in the attack. Today, across the country, American flags fly at half-staff in their honor.

Another 1,178 Americans suffered wounds or injuries from the attack.

The raid resulted in the loss of 4 US battleships, including the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, and USS West Virginia. An equal number of other battleships, as well as additional heavy warships, were severely damaged.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressing a Joint Session of Congress the next day, referred to December 7 as, “a date which will live in infamy”. In this speech, he urged Congress to declare war on the Japanese Empire. Thus began the United States’ entry into the Second World War.

The National Park Service and the US Navy will hold a Pearl Harbor commemoration ceremony at 0750 HST. This year’s theme is Above and Beyond the Call. There will be a moment of silence at 0755, the exact time the Japanese commenced their attack. Admiral John Aquilino, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, will deliver the keynote address.

The ceremony will be live-streamed on pearlharborevents.wordpress.com.