[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 150 (Thursday, December 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11734-S11735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR DAY

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise today in remembrance of those who 
relinquished their lives at the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. As 
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said at the time, December 7, 1941, 
will remain ``a date which will live in infamy,'' for it was on this 
date that the Japanese forces attacked our unsuspecting Nation.
  The first Japanese assault struck the United States naval base at 
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, at 7:55 a.m. The base was 
just awakening early Sunday morning when the sound of Japanese torpedo 
planes could be heard. The American armed forces in the Pacific were 
caught completely off guard. When a war warning was issued two weeks 
prior, Hawaii was not mentioned as a possible target. At the time, 
American authorities thought that the Philippines or Malaysia would be 
a possible area of attack, not the island of Hawaii. Therefore, Pearl 
Harbor was not prepared for the onslaught of

[[Page S11735]]

terror that occurred that devastating morning.
  The Japanese attack consisted of 363 planes that came in two waves 
with the second only 45 minutes after the first. The United States had 
concentrated almost its entire fleet of 94 vessels, including 8 
battleships, at Pearl Harbor, and this proximity made an easy target 
for the Japanese. Additionally, to prevent against saboteurs, the 
Army's planes at Oahu were alined wing tip to wing tip on airfields. 
Therefore, the Japanese were able to easily diminish the threat of any 
American defense. Before noon, when the Japanese attack concluded, 
2,403 American servicemen and civilians were killed and an additional 
1,178 were wounded.
  December 7, 1941, is the day our land, our people, and our spirit 
were brutally attacked. However, the Japanese forces failed to defeat 
the patriotism of the American people and our undying belief in our 
Nation. We were able to rally around one another with the knowledge and 
the confidence that America would prevail, and the great losses we 
suffered at Pearl Harbor would not be in vain. As a veteran of World 
War II, and a proud American, I would like to recognize the patriotism, 
the bravery, and the extreme sacrifices of those who were at Pearl 
Harbor on December 7, 1941, including our own Senator Dan Inouye. These 
fine men and women are true American heroes, and our country forever 
owes them a great debt of gratitude.

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