u.s. navy

1993What is the difference between a 'static' and a 'living' memorial?

The United States Aircraft Carrier Memorial, located at San Diego’s historic Old Navy "Fleet Landing" across from the USS Midway, serves as a powerful example of a 'living' memorial. Unlike static memorials that remain unchanged, the Aircraft Carrier Memorial continues to evolve, engraining the names of every U.S. Navy aircraft carrier—currently 165 in total—honoring not only the ships, but all who served aboard them. The memorial was unveiled on February 17, 1993, in front of more than 1,000 veterans and families, and features a striking nine-foot polished black granite obelisk alongside two life-size bronze sculptures. The ongoing addition of carriers—ranging from the USS Langley, commissioned in 1920, to the USS Ronald Reagan in 2003—ensures that this site remains a place of active remembrance and education for generations to come.

1941What U.S. national day of remembrance had been earlier declared as "a date which will live in infamy"?

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, observed each year on December 7, honors the lives lost during the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force on Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. This pivotal event, famously described by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a date which will live in infamy," marked the United States' entry into World War II. On that day in 1941, more than 2,000 Americans perished and nearly 200 aircraft were destroyed, with the USS Arizona suffering the greatest losses—1,177 of its 1,512 crew members died and only two survivors remain as of 2019. The annual commemoration, officially recognized by Congress in 1994, serves as a lasting tribute to the selfless sacrifice of those who served and marks over eight decades since that fateful morning changed the course of history.