On December 7th, exactly 80 years ago tomorrow, our nation was shaken by an early morning surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. When the dust settled after the hour-long battle, 2,390 American lives had been lost, and many more were still wounded.
What happened was an unspeakable tragedy for our nation; President Roosevelt said it best when he described it as “a date which will live in infamy.” Indeed, the memory lives on as we take time today to pause and honor National Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day.
The first National Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day was commemorated in 1994, after being signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. On this day, American flags should be flown at half-staff until sunset to honor those who were killed or injured during the attack.
The theme of this year’s commemoration is Valor, Sacrifice, and Peace, and will be held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. More information can be found at recreation.gov and pearlharborevents.com.
Today more than ever we appreciate the sacrifices made by the men and women of our country, both to protect us on that tragic day and to fight for our freedom in the war to follow. We continue to honor their service, and it is because of heroes like them that IHG Army Hotels is proud to serve our armed forces.