National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day— Flags to be flown at half-staff
7 December, 2020 (Monday) is the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Only two remaining survivors still living today.
On Monday, 79 years after the tragic attack on the Hawaii naval base, the state of Kentucky will celebrate Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
More than 2,400 people were killed on Dec. 7, 1941, and another 1,100 were wounded when Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Honolulu was targeted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. In World War II, an invasion which was supposed to cripple the United States culminated in an Allied victory.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has ordered that all flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff in memory of the lives lost on that day in compliance with a White House proclamation.
The governor is also encouraging citizens, companies and organizations to do the same in the state.
Kentucky lost the last Pearl Harbor survivor earlier this year. At the age of 101, Albert Patrick passed away on July 16. Only two survivors of Pearl Harbor are still alive today.
On December 7, remember Albert Patrick and his fellow survivors, remember the 2,403 fallen, remember that we had what it took to not just survive, but emerge victorious at our lowest point in the 20th century, “On December 7, remember Albert Patrick and his fellow survivors, remember the 2,403 fallen, remember that our lowest point in the 20th Century, we had what it took to not just survive, but emerge victorious,”
[thumbs-rating-buttons]
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Date: December 7, 1941
Location: Oahu, Hawaii Territory, U.S
The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military bombing against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii Territory, by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States (a neutral nation at the time) just before 08:00 on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. The assault led the next day to the official entry of the United States into World War II. The assault was referred to by the Japanese military leadership as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, and during its preparation as Operation Z. The assault was intended by Japan as a defensive measure to prevent the U.S. Pacific Fleet from intervening with its planned military action against the overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States in Southeast Asia. There have been organized Japanese assaults on the U.S.-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island over the course of seven hours, and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong.
At 7:48 a.m., the assault commenced. About Hawaiian Time (18:18 GMT). 353 Japanese Imperial aircraft (including fighters, level and dive bombers and torpedo bombers) were targeted at the base in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. Of the 8 U.S. Navy battleships, all destroyed, with four sunk, were present. Subsequently, all but the USS Arizona were raised, and six returned to service and went on to combat in the war. Three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer also sunk or harmed the Japanese. 188 U.S. planes were lost in total; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were injured. Significant base facilities were not targeted, such as the power station, dry dock, shipyard, maintenance and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the construction of the submarine piers and headquarters (also the intelligence section’s home). There were small Japanese losses: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were destroyed, and 64 soldiers were killed. The commanding officer of one of the submarines, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured.
Japan declared later that day (8 December in Tokyo) a declaration of war against the United States, but the declaration was not issued until the next day. Congress declared war on Japan the next day, December 8. Germany and Italy both declared war on the U.S. on December 11, responding with a war declaration against Germany and Italy. The unannounced military action by Japan had numerous historical precedents, but the absence of any formal alert, particularly while peace talks were still apparently underway, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy” The attack on Pearl Harbor was later judged to be a war crime in the Tokyo Trials because the attack occurred without a declaration of war and without clear warning.