Pearl Harbor Day

Here I am at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential library and home which is a National Park Service. This is my 2nd time visiting this great home of a great president! If you see behind me, there is a photocopy of President FDR's original speech on Pearl Harbor 1941, for it was truly a privilege to hold and look at this speech. The historian at the FDR library that I was the 2nd person to see this particular speech cause the 1st time on which I visit the president's library was in 2002, the year after 9/11/01, he told me that President George Walker Bush came to the same spot on which I was reading Roosevelt's speech and look this speech to talk to the United States about the safety of this nation to go to war against the Talbian and those who want to deliberate this free nation. When I was holding that speech in my hand, I was truly honored to have that recogination to be with a President of the United States. This speech is truly a wonderful and powerful message for the years to come in the future!

Here is the USS Utah: the forgotten battleship which was also lost on December 7, 1941



The Presidential Address to Congress of December 8, 1941 (known as the Infamy Speech or Day of Infamy Speech was delivered at 12:30 p.m. that day to a Joint Session of Congress by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, one day after the Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. The name derives from the first line of the speech: Roosevelt describing the previous day as "a date which will live in infamy".

Within an hour of the speech, Congress passed a formal declaration of war against Japan and officially brought the U.S. into World War II. The address is regarded as one of the most famous American political speeches of the 20th century!


here is the speech: Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.



As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.


here is the memorial to the USS Arizona in Hawaii and its run by the National Park Service!

USS Arizona coming out of New York Harbor, I do like this image of this particular battleship!

USS Arizona Memorial
Memorialized remains of the Battleship Arizona. Many remember the vessel only from its Pearl Harbor battle and sinking with the loss of most of its crew and commander Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd. From its commission in 1916, the vessel had a very distinctive record of service. She served with the British Grand Fleet at the end of World War I then had the honor of escorting President Woodrow Wilson to France for the Paris Peace Conference returning to New York with a load of homeward-bound veterans. She took President Herbert Hoover on a goodwill cruse of Caribbean nations. The Battleship was in port when the Long Beach earthquake occurred and was in position to render quick aid to the city. In 1935, the ship was the location for the filming of the movie "Here Comes the Navy" which received an Academy Award nomination.

After the war, the Arizona was a shattered hulk and the over 900 men entombed in its hull were largely ignored. In 1950, the Admiral in command of Pearl Harbor ordered that a flagpole be erected over the sunken ship with a tradition of raising and lowering the colors over the ship each day. Soon a commemorative plaque was placed at the base of the pole. Momentum began to build toward providing money toward construction of a memorial. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the creation using funds from Congress along with private donations. Still lacking money, Elvis Presley came forward staging a live concert at Pearl Harbor raising enough money to put the drive over the top and construction began. A structure was placed spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship and it consists of three sections: the entry and assembly room, an area designed for ceremonies and observations and the shrine room, where the names of those killed are engraved on the marble wall.

As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the flag flies from a flagpole which is attached to the original severed mainmast of the sunken battleship. Over the years corrosion has eaten away the hull of the vessel. Presently, experts are trying to accurately predict the life expectancy of the USS Arizona's hull. The Arizona memorial shares its legacy with the nearby but lesser known memorial USS Utah which had a similar fate on December 7th with Peter Tomich a Medal of Honor recipient entombed in her hull along with fifty three shipmates.
USS Arizona Memorial *
Honolulu
Honolulu County
Hawaii, USA
*Memorial Site

remember all of those who perished on this tragic day, 69 years ago today! may all of you rest in peace!

USS Utah Memorial
The "Forgotten Memorial," due to its secluded location. The U.S. Navy has not forgotten the Utah. An American flag is raised daily at the memorial. The hull of the USS Utah still remains a short distance from shore with 54 members of her crew entombed inside including Peter Tomich who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds. Thirty officers and 431 enlisted men survived that fateful day. Also, still in the ship are the ashes of Nancy Lynne Wagner, an infant who had died earlier. Her father, a crew member aboard the vessel, had the ashes in his possession with the intention to bury them at sea at a later time. Although he survived, the ashes were still aboard when the ship sank.
Burial:
USS Utah Memorial *
Honolulu
Honolulu County
Hawaii, USA
Plot: Ford Island, Pearl Harbor Naval Base
*Memorial Site

remember all of those who perished on this tragic day, 69 years ago today! may all of you rest in peace!