ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - "December 7th, 1941. A date which will live in infamy." Those were the words uttered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the day following the attack on the Pearl Harbor American naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Now 82 years later it is still a day which lives in the minds and hearts of Americans and American veterans who have served our country. The attack launched the United States into World War two and injected a powerful sense of patriotism into the nation. As time passes the attack on pearl harbor ingrained is in the minds of veterans but it's up to the younger generation to carry President Roosevelts words into the future and always remember the sacrifices made that day.
"I think the people today forget about how this country was pushed into a war that we really didn't want. You know we ignored it for a while until pearl harbor. We would like the younger generation, whether their parents or grandparents served in the military, to take a minute, thank a veteran if they know a veteran. If they hear something happening that concerns veterans, maybe they could show up and have a small thank for the veterans that have served." said Bill King, president of the Allen County Veterans Service Commission.
The attack on Pearl Harbor took the lives of 2,403 Americans. 30 days after the attack, over 134 thousand Americans enlisted in the military and less than a year after pearl harbor, 50 million of the 132 million Americans were enlisted in the war effort working for the government.
