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.