Assembly Resolution No. 2386

BY: M. of A. Raga

COMMEMORATING Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on
December 7, 2024, in New York State

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commemorate
significant events which represent turning points in our unique history
and which are indelibly etched in the saga of our great Nation; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on December 7, 2024, in New
York State; and

WHEREAS, On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a
surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu,
Hawaii, destroying 188 aircraft, five battleships, one minelayer and
three destroyers, with more than 2,400 dead and 1,100 wounded; and

WHEREAS, A decisive victory for the Japanese, the attack on Pearl
Harbor spurred the United States into a declaration of war; the country
officially entered World War II the following day, when President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress, calling
December 7, 1941, "a date that will live in infamy"; and

WHEREAS, Four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan's allies,
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, declared war on the United States,
turning it into a global war and opening up the Atlantic theater; and

WHEREAS, Despite the perception of the attack on Pearl Harbor as a
devastating blow to America, the three aircraft carriers assigned to the
Pacific Fleet, the Enterprise, the Lexington and the Saratoga, remained
intact, as did the Navy Yard, Submarine Base and tank farms; and

WHEREAS, However, the battleships, Arizona and Oklahoma, and the
destroyers, Shaw, Cassin and Downes, were permanently lost and several
other battleships were removed from the order of battle to be refitted;
and

WHEREAS, The attack on Pearl Harbor immediately galvanized a divided
nation into action; at the time, public opinion had been moving towards
support for entering the war but considerable opposition still remained;
and

WHEREAS, Overnight, America united against its enemies, and the
"sleeping giant" of United States industrial and military capacity was
awakened, pouring overwhelming resources into both the Pacific and
Atlantic theaters toward final victory over tyranny; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when events
of such historical consequences are brought to our attention, they
should be recalled and recognized by all the citizens of the great State
of New York; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on December 7, 2024, in New
York State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the American Legion Department of New York, the Veterans
of Foreign Wars Department of New York, the Military Order of the Purple
Heart Department of New York and the Disabled American Veterans
Department of New York.