EDITORIAL: A date that continues to live in infamy

Few days on the calendar carry the connotations that Dec. 7 does for Americans.

It was on that date in 1941 that World War II came to America.

The story is well known, or it should be. Five minutes before 8 o’clock on that morning, more than 350 Japanese torpedo and bomber planes began an assault designed to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet so that Japan, which was allied with Germany and Italy, could take military action on U.S. territories and those of the Allies in Southeast Asia unchallenged.

The toll on human life at Pearl Harbor was tremendous. More than 2,400 Americans were killed and nearly 1,200 would injured.

It also badly damaged America’s defense capabilities. All eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were damaged, with four sunk. Of those four, only the Arizona could not be raised and six of the eight were repaired and used to fight in World War II. Three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and a mine-layer were destroyed or damaged, and 188 aircraft were destroyed.

It was shocking and devastating, but it also was a turning point. America, still remembering horrors of the Great War (now World War I) had been reluctant to get involved in this one, though public opinion had begun moving toward intervention following the invasion of France in 1940. The news of the deadly, unexpected assault on American soil changed the nation’s attitude overnight, if not more quickly. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to Congress on Dec. 8 — a seven-minute speech that was heard by an estimated 81 percent of the U.S. public who had access to radios — only one U.S. representative voted against declaring war on Japan.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan,” FDR said. “The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.”

Roosevelt, in making his short, eloquent case for declaration of war, noted that while the attack was a surprise, it required a great deal of planning, even as those plotting the lethal assault pretended to negotiate for a peaceful resolution. Less remembered in many instances is that Japan also attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island and Midway Island, as well as ships between Honolulu and the U.S. West Coast.

“I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us,” he said. “Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.”

Today, nearly three-quarters of a century later, the world is still a dangerous place. We were reminded with the 9/11 attacks and, more recently, with the Paris attacks that the enemies of freedom are continually hiding and plotting, looking for avenues of attack. They are methodical and patient, and we must remain resolute and vigilant. Freedom can demand a high price, as those young men and women learned at Pearl Harbor. It’s our job to not ever let their sacrifices to keep us free to have been in vain.