Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Remembrance of a “date which will live in infamy”

The Pearl Harbor attack entered the consciousness of
contemporary Americans more forcefully than any
other single contemporary event. Regarded as a
dastardly “surprise attack” and an act of “infamy”
during the Second World War, every effort was made
to keep its memory bright. Posters, popular songs and other media
were staples of wartime popular culture, regular memorial services
were held to commemorate the dead, and flags that had flown at the
Capitol and White House on 7 December 1941 were raised over fallen
enemy capital cities.

Even after the conflict ended, the Pearl Harbor “surprise” helped
shape a generation of National defense policy and was not forgotten
by those who had lived through the war. Monuments, large and small,
were erected on the battle sites. Around the country, veterans’ reunion
groups met regularly to keep the memory alive. Even now, nearly
seven decades later, Pearl Harbor remains the subject of a regular flow
of documentaries, dramatic productions, books and articles. EK