A photo of Bob McKenney (left), Richard Schimmel (center bottom), and two other Pearl Harbor survivors hangs in Schimmel's home office. DoD photo by Katie LangeEveryone who was of age on December 7th 1941, remembers where they were when they heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. This event,”a day that shall live in infamy” changed the course of history and the lives of millions upon millions of people.  National Pearl Harbor Remembrance day is observed every year to remember the 2,403 American citizens who died  that day. Designated by Congress  on August 23, 1994, requires all American flags to be flown at half mast until sunset. While not a national holiday, many observances are held throughout the country.

Pearl Harbor should and will be remembered as a day that aggression of any  kind toward the cause of freedom will not be tolerated. Canada was the first western nation to declare war on the empire of Japan, followed by the United States on December eighth when the United States entered the war on the side of the allies. On that day, President Franklin D.. Roosevelt declared the bombing of Pearl Harbor “a date which will live in infamy.”

While there are many stories of Pearl Harbor survivors, Richard Schimmel, and Allentown, Pennsylvania resident tells a story of the regrets of a fellow Pearl Harbor survivor that has remained with Schimmel since that date.

As more an more survivors leave us, the legacy of Pearl Harbor shall never leave the American public’s mind or hearts.

Generations of world citizens were affected throughout the war and the Cold war that followed that pushed the world to the brink of Armageddon many times. The first shots in the war against freedom were fired that day and shall never be forgotten by Americans and the citizens of the entire world.

Pearl Harbor is certainly “a date which will live in infamy.”

For an interesting survivor’s story about Richard Schimmel, see Katie Lange’s article at USMilitary.com

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