WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement honoring the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor:

“December 7, 1941 altered the course of history. Just before 8:00 a.m., the Empire of Japan carried out a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, aiming to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet. By the end of that day, 2,403 Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and civilians had lost their lives, thousands more were wounded, and the United States was thrown headfirst into the Second World War.

“80 years later, we come together to honor the men and women who served at Pearl Harbor that fateful day. May we resolve to follow their example of service and selflessness, reflect on their courage in the face of grave peril, and commit to upholding the American experiment for which they fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice. Let us also take time today to remember the deadly attacks that occurred that day on U.S. forces across the Pacific in Guam, the Philippines, and Wake Island.

“While we long remember December 7th as a day that shall live in infamy, it also endures as shining beacon of the American spirit. Indeed, generations of Americans—in Maine and throughout the country—have found strength and inspiration from the heroism of U.S. servicemembers that day. Those men and women did not know, nor did they ask for, what history had in store for them on that fateful morning, but they answered the challenge nonetheless. We must strive every day to embody this spirit—as so many Maine people have done—and uphold our nation’s proud tradition of service in the name of freedom.”