[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 49 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Pages 1761-1762]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7511--National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2001

December 5, 2001

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    On the morning of December 7, 1941, America was attacked without 
warning at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the air and naval forces of Imperial 
Japan. More than 2,400 people perished and another 1,100 were wounded, 
triggering our entry into World War II.
    Today, we honor those killed 60 years ago and those who survived to 
fight on other fronts in the four succeeding years of world war. We also 
remember the millions of brave Americans who answered our country's call 
to the battlefield, to the factory, and to the farm, remembering Pearl 
Harbor by their deeds, their devotion to duty, and their willingness to 
fight for freedom. The attack at Pearl Harbor fired the American spirit 
with a determination that freedom would not fall to tyranny; and the 
United States and its allies fought to victory, preserving a world in 
which democracy could grow. The tragedy of December 7, 1941, remains 
seared upon our collective national memory, a recollection that serves 
not just as a symbol of American military valor and American resolve, 
but also as a reminder of the presence of evil in the world and the need 
to remain ever vigilant against it.
    Now, another date will forever stand alongside December 7--September 
11, 2001. On that day, our people and our way of life again were 
brutally and suddenly attacked, though not by a complex military 
maneuver, but by the surreptitious wiles of evil terrorists who took 
cruel and heartless advantage of the freedoms guaranteed by our Nation. 
Their target was not chiefly our military, but innocent civilians. We 
fight now to defend freedom, secure civilization, and ensure the 
survival of our American way of life.
    As we fight to defend what we believe is right, we remember the 
sacrifice of those who have gone before us--not only the heroes of Pearl 
Harbor but all the men and women of the greatest of generations who

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defeated tyranny. We are grateful for their service, and honor it by 
pledging to do our best to secure for our children, our grandchildren, 
and all of posterity the continuing blessings of liberty.
    The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated 
December 7, 2001, as ``National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.''
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2001, as 
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I call upon the people of the 
United States to observe this solemn occasion with appropriate 
ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies, interested 
organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United 
States at half-staff this and every December 7 in honor of those who 
died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of 
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
sixth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:51 a.m., December 7, 
2001]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 7, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
December 10.