There is no such thing as impregnable defense against powerful aggressors who sneak up in the dark and strike without warning. There is no such thing as security for any nation-or any individual-in a world ruled by the principles of gangsterism. It is our obligation to our dead-it is our sacred obligation to their children and to our children-that we must never forget what we have learned. We must share together the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the victories-the changing fortunes of war. Every single man, woman and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history. It is actual collaboration so well calculated that all the continents of the world, and all the oceans, are now considered by the Axis strategists as one gigantic battlefield. Today, it has become far more than a parallel. The course that Japan has followed for the past ten years in Asia has paralleled the course of Hitler and Mussolini in Europe and in Africa.

It’s also a day for Veterans organizations to remember their fallen comrades.Archival Audio - FDR December 9, 1941: Fireside Chat 19: On the War with Japan That’s why we mark the day by tossing a wreath into the nearest body of water. Many more of us have vivid recollections of the 9-11 tragedy as a day that both terrified us and shaped America as a nation, but it was Decemthat thrust America into the global role it still serves. As of 2013, 2,000 to 2,500 survivors were thought to be still alive, according to Eileen Martinez, chief of interpretation for the USS Arizona Memorial. The black and white footage shows the smoldering USS Arizona on its way to a watery grave. Our images of that day come mostly from archive photos, Hollywood, and The History Channel.

Three days after that, Germany and Italy formally declared war on the U.S., all of which signaled this nation’s entry into World War II. FDR, the next day, asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Pacific Fleet was crippled and nearly all of the U.S. Roosevelt – claimed 2,345 American lives while much of the U. Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor – America’s “Day of Infamy,” in the words of President Franklin D. A dwindling few Americans were alive 80 years ago when America entered World War II.

The day of infamy