Obama marks Pearl Harbor anniversary with focus on ‘unimaginable’ alliance with Japan

President Obama on Wednesday marked the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, saying he looks forward to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the site later this month. 

{mosads}“As a testament that even the most bitter of adversaries can become the closest of allies, I look forward to visiting the USS Arizona Memorial later this month along with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” Obama said in a statement. “This historic visit will stand as a tribute to the power of reconciliation and to the truth that the United States and Japan—bound by an alliance unimaginable 75 years ago—will continue to work hand-in-hand for a more peaceful and secure world.” 

Abe will be the first Japanese leader to visit Pearl Harbor, the cite of the 1941 attack that brought America into World War II. 

Obama emphasized the need for Americans to “embrace our commitment to care for and support veterans of America’s wars from every generation.”

“Today, Michelle and I join the American people in remembering those who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor—many of them not much older than boys—and in honoring their families—spouses, siblings, sons and daughters who still carry the memories of their loved ones in their hearts,” he said.  “We give thanks to the veterans and survivors of Pearl Harbor who faced down fear itself, met infamy with intrepidity, freed captive peoples from fascism and whose example inspires us still.”