December 7, 2011 Commemoration
at World War II Memorial Marks the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day

Unusually heavy rains and a severe weather advisory caused the Pearl Harbor Day commemoration at the National World War II Memorial to be scaled down, but the presentation of wreaths at the Freedom Wall of Stars went forward through the downpour. The ceremony honoring our nation's World War II Veterans began at 1:53 PM, the exact time of the attack on December 7, 1941. Representatives of the Friends of the National WWII Memorial, the National Park Service and the Military Order of World Wars participated in the ceremony in remembrance of the 70th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack and to honor those who died in the attack as well as Pearl Harbor survivors.

Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, the scheduled keynote speaker for the cancelled Commemoration ceremony, gave the following speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate to note the historic Pearl Harbor attack:

“Mr. President, 70 years ago today, even as I speak—at 7:45 in the morning in Hawaii, where it is now about 8:40 in the morning—our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor, bringing us into World War II, a war that had been ongoing in Europe for more than three years and in Asia in different forms for a much longer period.

This began a national effort that was historically unprecedented in its unity and in its vigor—in which the United States astounded the world in terms of its capacity to respond to this attack in many different fronts. Our economic production was staggering. By 1943, our production schedule included 125,000 aircraft, 75,000 tanks, 35,000 anti-aircraft guns, 10 million tons of merchant shipping. During the course of that war, the productive capacity of this country gave our Allied forces more than half of all of its armaments, including 86 percent of the armaments that were used in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

I rise today to express my thanks and my appreciation to the men and women of that generation who stepped forward and responded to the call of service in this period. During World War II, more than 16 million Americans stepped forward to serve our country. In that period, more than 400,000 of them died—including 291,557 who were killed in action—and another 670,846 were wounded in action. Of those 16 million, today about 1.7 million World War II veterans remain alive. They are carrying the torch and the memory of this larger group that stepped forward and served and became known as “The Greatest Generation.” It is my profound pleasure and my duty to stand forth and remember all of them today.

Among those 16 million who served, nearly 8 million were able to take advantage of the World War II G.I. Bill. It was my honor to have introduced a similar G.I. Bill on my first day here in the Senate in 2007. Within 16 months, our body and the other body had come together to agree on an educational package that would allow those who have served since 9/11 to have the same chance at a first-class future as those who served during World War II—a program that would pay their tuition, buy their books, and give them a monthly stipend. On this day of remembrance for those who served during World War II, we should remember that for every dollar spent on the World War II G.I. Bill, our Treasury received $7 in tax reimbursements because of the ability of the Greatest Generation to have successful careers and to contribute to our economy.

So today as one of many of us here who are the next generation from the Great Generation, I would like to say how thankful I am for the service that they gave and for the example that they set when they returned from war. For many of us—for me—they were our parents; they were our mentors; they were our role models; they were our leaders as we ourselves matured into leaders. They taught us how to love our country; they taught us how to value the notion of service. Their legacy is in every area of our society today. We honor them and we should resolve to continue in the traditions that were imbued in us by their sacrifices and the example they set when they returned from that most difficult war.