On the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese fleet crossed the Pacific Ocean.  They attacked and crippled the US Pacific Fleet.  The attackers bombed our docked ships, and a nearby military airfield. Eight American battleships and 13 other naval vessels were sunk or badly damaged, almost 200 American aircraft were destroyed and approximately 3,000 navel and military personnel were killed or wounded. The attack marked the entrance of the United States into the war.

The Axis Powers marched across Europe toward world domination.  The tripartite represented one of the darkest and most evil forces the world has ever known. Nazi Germany had begun the systematic extermination of Jewish men, women and children. The Axis Powers moved to conquer, rule, and destroy to gain the world, under a flag of greed and hate.  

American forces joined freedom-loving nations already fighting.  Our soldiers fought valiantly from the shores of Normandy to the Battle of Midway.  They fought not to show U.S. might, nor to win possessions.  The American soldiers fought to preserve and protect the right of people to live freely.  

In the years following the defeat of the Axis Powers, the world would change shape.  Borders would open, stimulating a wave of freedom strong enough to tear down walls and break barriers.  People from different corners of the earth would be connected like never before.  America would build a strong relationship with Japan and its other, and unite much of the world to destroy the vice of communism.    

Today, American’s look upon the events of December 7, 1941 in a new light.  In retrospect, we understand the distant stare that beset our father’s, mother’s, grandfathers, and grandmother’s eyes as they told stories of where they were, and what they were doing on that day 60 years ago.  It is with new ears that we hear the trembling voices that described the terror and uncertainty that jolted the country when an enemy attacked us on our ground. It is with gratitude and the utmost respect that we remember those who fought, and those who were lost for the love of our nation.  

We move forward more vigilant, more aware, and more determined.  As we pay tribute to those we lost at Pearl Harbor, we stand with a new pride in America.  Our hopes and prayers go out to those who are deployed, even now, to carry the torch in the fight for freedom. At the dawning of a new day of uncertainty, we can look to the American values of freedom, justice, and equality to lead us to peace and security.  We remember the bravery of our soldiers that suffered so, to make our world better.