TRUMP PROCLAIMS PEARL HARBOR DAY

     Today, President Trump revived a long-neglected day of observance, Pearl Harbor Day. While never an official national holiday, December 7th was proclaimed from the time of President Truman to remember the Japanese attack on the United States, and our subsequent shared victory over Global Fascism. The Pacific Theater in WW2 was carried almost completely by the United States, which had to recover from the near-annihilation of the Pacific Fleet. 

     President Trump stressed this remarkable recovery and victory as emblematic of the American spirit. He was joined at the White House today by Mickey Ganitch, Jack Holder, Lawrence Parry, Robert Fernandez, George Blake, and Alexander Horanzy: all six men venerable old survivors of the Battle of Pearl Harbor. It was a scene such as we haven't witnessed in decades: a president actually acknowledging their services. President Trump congratulated each of them in turn during the ceremony. 

      Ganitch was playing an inter-ship football game on December 7th, 1941. He reported for duty during the attack, still wearing his football uniform, and mounted the crow's-nest of the USS Pennsylvania. Completely exposed to Japanese fire, the crow's-nest was responsible for directing fire against attacking aircraft. The Pennsylvania was one of the few ship surviving the battle. 

     Holder was stationed on Ford Island---headquarters of the fleet and base for rescue and patrol ships. The island base was nearly wiped out on December 7th. Holder was injured, but went on to fly multiple missions in the Pacific.

      Parry was a gunners' mate; responsible for carrying munitions to those operating anti-aircraft guns. On December 7th, standard transport was badly damaged---often this duty had to be performed on foot and under enemy fire.

      Fernandez was a gunner on the USS Curtiss. The Curtiss set sail during the attack and engaged the enemy in the open sea. They shot down two Japanese planes and destroyed a submarine. The ship was hit both by a bomb, a torpedo, and a crashed enemy plane. Despite dozens of casualties, the crew alternated between fighting the fires and fighting the Japanese. The Curtiss survived the battle, and saw service again after extensive repairs. 

      Blake and Horanzy were the only Army veterans present. With a Japanese landing feared any moment, the small garrison at Pearl Harbor deployed to points to meet it. Fortunately, the invasion never materialized, but the troops had to have known that this was likely a suicide mission if it had been. 

      On the night of his acceptance speech in November, 2016, then-President-Elect Trump promised that the "forgotten among us would be forgotten no more." Today, after decades of bowing to Japanese money and Liberal political correctness, the heroism of ordinary Americans is no longer forgotten.