Seventy-Five years ago on Dec 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese aircrafts ordered a surprise bombing attack on the United States naval base in Oahu, Hawaii killing 2,400 Americans. The following day, America declared war on Japan and thousands of men rushed to sign up to serve in the United States armed forces, a war we now call World War II. The attack without declaration of war was proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as “A date which will live in infamy.”
75 years later on December 7, 2016, we remember the thousands of veterans who fought and died. According to The Apartment of Veteran Affairs, only about 620,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in the war are alive. On this daunting and bleak day The USS Arizona Memorial on the island of Oahu honors the dead. President Barack Obama marked the anniversary by saying, “This historic visit will stand as a tribute to the power of reconciliation and to the truth that the United States and Japan. . .Their sacrifice galvanized millions who answered the call to defend liberty at its moment of maximum peril. In the hours after the attack, President Roosevelt promised that ‘’the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.’’ Thanks to the heroism of a generation, we did. Visitors to the memorial can reach it via boats from the naval base at Pearl Harbor. Although Pearl Harbor Day is not a Federal Holiday, it is still a day that no one will ever forget.
By: Rayiah Ross
beniciapaw.com 