What’s happening for the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor?
December 7, 2021
December 7th is the remembrance day of the surprise attack on the naval base of Pearl Harbor. This year will mark the 80th anniversary of the attack and will host several activities to attend and watch to pay respects to the sailors and citizens that lost their lives.
What was Pearl Harbor?
Pearl Harbor is an American naval base located on O’ahu island in Hawaii which housed majority of the naval power in the United States in 1941. The Unites States was neutral in the conflict regarding World War 2 until a planned attack was commenced on the base.
On December 7th, 1941, roughly before 8:00 am all was calm and normal actions were being carried out until the planes could be heard in the distance from the small island base. The surprise attack was carried out by the Japanese military with intentions to force the United States to limit embargoes and economic restrictions that it had placed on the nation.
The most significant outcome of the attack was the soldier and civilian casualties of 2,403 and the roughly 1,000 people that were wounded. Most ships including the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS Utah, USS Nevada and more were heavily damaged; however, most where reparable.
The Japanese motivation was to ultimately cripple the United States naval force thus when Japan attacked the United States, they would have little to no resistance at sea. The attack had two major flaws being all the aircraft carriers were away from Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war was sent later than the start of the attack thus meaning Japan had attacked a foreign nation without an official document declaring they would.
Ultimately Pearl Harbor was a significant attack on the United States where numerous lives were taken and it was the cause for the United States introduction to the second World War.
What is happening this year?
Limited visitation will occur at the actual sites of Pearl Harbor because of Covid-19. The National Park Service accompanied by the Navy will be having a limited ceremony at Kilo Peer to help keep Covid-19 from spreading and keep the veterans at low risk of infection.
Livestreams will be streamed however such as at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial which will be a safe option for anyone who wants to virtually attend the commemoration.
Event tickets can be purchased at the Pearl Harbor Events website here https://www.pearlharborevents.com/event-schedule.
Also occurring is the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade which will be to pay respects to the fallen soldiers who fought at this attack.
If you would like to pay your respects to the fallen soldiers or citizens who lost their lives due to this attack or are just interested in learning more about the history of Pearl Harbor visit the previous website for ticket sales or the links listen bellow.
Overviews of Pearl Harbor
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack
Info about the livestream
80th anniversary info
