NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

WHY NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IS IMPORTANT

1. It was the worst attack on American soil by a foreign country

   The United States was in peace talks with Japan when Japan launched 350 warplanes in a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor, home of the Pacific Fleet. 330 U.S. planes and 19 ships were damaged or destroyed, and thousands of people were killed or injured.

2. The Pearl Harbor attack drew the United States into WW II

   Japan’s designs on the Philippines, then a territory of the United States, precipitated theirattack on PearlHarbor in an attempt to destroy the Pacific Fleet and buy time for them to conquer what they referred to as the Southern Resource Zone. Up until then, the mainly isolationist position of the US prevented our entrance into WW II. That position disintegrated with the attack, as the American people united in a call to war —a call that eventually lead to the Allies winning that war.

3. It is a day to honor our military

   This is a good time to think of the hardships and ordeals endured by our service men and women every day and everywhere in the world. The United States is in a position of being the policemen of the world, with hundreds of thousands of service men and women deployed in the protection of our country and people everywhere. Remember them in your actions and your prayers.