Pearl Harbor Day

If you see flags flying at half-staff today, it's because Gov. Bob Holden has ordered the flags lowered at all of Missouri's state office buildings in observance of Pearl Harbor Day. Many others will no doubt lower their flags as well.

It was on this day in 1941 that Japanese bombers attacked U.S. naval vessels and aircraft at Pearl Harbor, a dark and deadly day in this nation's history. The attack on Pearl Harbor prompted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to go before a joint session of Congress the next day and seek a declaration of war, marking the United States' official entry into World War II.

There are veterans today who still remember the awful sounds and sights of Pearl Harbor. We should all remember all valiant veterans who, as a result of the attack, enlisted to fight for their nation's freedom.

--Southeast Missourian