Flags ordered at half-staff Saturday to remember attack on Pearl Harbor

President Joe Biden and Gov. Ron DeSantis have ordered flags lowered Saturday to honor those killed and injured during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Dec. 7, 1941, attack prompted the United States’ entry into World War II. More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the early morning weekend attack at the U.S. naval base on Oahu.

“Commemorating the attack on Pearl Harbor instills a greater understanding and appreciation of the selfless sacrifice of the men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and Dec. 7, 2024, marks the 83rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which affords us an opportunity to honor our state’s more than 5,000 living World War II veterans,” DeSantis said in a proclamation.

More than 353 Japanese aircraft damaged all eight U.S. Navy battleships in the harbor, sinking four.

“During National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, may we remember the brave patriots whose lives were cut short on this day 83 years ago,” Biden said in his own proclamation. “May we honor all the service members who gave their last full measure of devotion to defend democracy in the years that followed.  And may we all recommit to fulfilling the future they fought for — one grounded in freedom, democracy, equality, and opportunity for all.”

The attack in Honolulu led prompted “large numbers” of military personnel to move to Florida, “with more than 170 installations established or expanded,” according to the Museum of Florida History.

Earlier this week, the governor ordered flags in Florida to be lowered on Friday in memory of the 2019 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola by a member of the Saudi Arabian Air Force.