Pearl Harbor Day Observance December 7

  • Tuesday, December 1, 2015

On Monday, December 7 at 12:00 noon, Chattanooga and Hamilton County Governments will commemorate the 74th Anniversary of the surprise attack on US forces at Pearl Harbor with a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II Memorial on Patton Parkway. 

While ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ became a rallying cry during the long years of World War II, few people alive today remember the broadcast of that shocking news early on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941.  Many of those citizens can recall sitting near their radios as President Franklin D.

Roosevelt described the attack as a ‘day that will live in infamy’ and requested that Congress issue a declaration of war.  Within days, US forces were mobilized for a fight against tyranny that would ultimately end in 1945 defeats for Germany, Italy and Japan, at a cost of more than 400,000 combat or combat-related deaths for the United States.

On Monday, December 7, local officials will commemorate the service of all World War II veterans and pay special tribute to the almost 600 Hamilton County casualties from World War II. The public is invited to attend the brief service. 

Earlier that morning, a commemorative wreath will be placed at the World War II Monument at the Chattanooga National Cemetery by representatives of the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center and the Chief John Ross Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

For more information, contact Chattanooga and Hamilton County Historian, Linda Moss Mines, at lsmines@gps.edu.

 

Memories
AUDIO: Mayor Robert Kirk Walker Talks About 1973 Eastgate Flood
AUDIO: Mayor Robert Kirk Walker Talks About 1973 Eastgate Flood
  • 6/19/2025

The late Chattanooga Mayor Robert Kirk Walker took to the radio airwaves after the massive flood of March, 1973. The National Weather Service said Chattanooga received over nine inches of rain ... more

AUDIO: Ben Haden Discusses Early Years Of Ministry
  • 6/18/2025

Ben Haden served as pastor of Chattanooga’s First Presbyterian Church for 31 years. After coming to Chattanooga, Ben, as he preferred to be called, founded the internationally radio, television, ... more

Archaeology And More
  • 6/16/2025

I lived in Chattanooga for many years, most of it in St. Elmo on the mountain side of Alabama Avenue. My playground was the side of Lookout Mountain. During that time I found a plethora of arrowheads ... more