National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In a speech to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the bombing of Pearl Harbor "a date which will live in infamy." National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is observed in the U.S. today to remember the 2,403 U.S. citizens who were killed in the surprise attack. In response, the United States declared war on Japan the next day and entered World War II on the side of the Allies. There were 405,399 Americas killed in action with 670,846 wounded in World War II – among those killed in action were 487 West Point graduates. Six West Point graduates and one former Cadet received the Medal of Honor in the European Theater of Operations. Three West Point graduates received the Medal of Honor in the Pacific Theater of Operations.