National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2016: Historical Half-Staff Archive

Remembering Pearl Harbor seventy-five years later

President Barack Obama's 2016 proclamation marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Its account begins with the attack and the Americans killed, then widens to the service and sacrifice that followed during the Second World War. The text treats remembrance as a continuing responsibility to those who served, the survivors, and later generations of troops and veterans.

This is the 2016 observance, not a newly issued notice for the current December 7. The anniversary is central to the document's language: “Seventy-five years ago” belongs to 2016 and must not be silently updated when the proclamation is republished. Preserving that wording allows readers to encounter the historical statement as it was issued.

The flag request and the people it addresses

The proclamation urges Federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff on December 7. Its wording thus explicitly includes voluntary participation beyond federal offices. It also encourages appropriate ceremonies and activities honoring military service, past and present.

The distinction between an invitation and a site-specific order matters. This document does not use the same list of military posts, naval vessels, embassies, and consular offices found in some event-specific mourning proclamations. A faithful summary follows the audience actually named here rather than inserting that longer list from a different document.

Issue date, observance date, and publication date

Proclamation 9551 is dated December 6, 2016, and designates December 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It was published in the Federal Register on December 9. The publication date is part of the record's provenance; it is not the day on which the flag request applied.

The text cites Public Law 103–308, as amended, for the annual designation. Its own half-staff sentence specifies “this December 7,” without a numerical hour or a named time zone. This archive preserves that date-level instruction rather than attributing an unstated clock time to the President. Nor should this observance be confused with Memorial Day or assigned a noon endpoint borrowed from another occasion.

The full text and original pages below allow readers to check both the commemorative message and the precise request. The reproduced signature page documents how the proclamation appeared in the official publication; it is not presented as an original manuscript.

Source for the proclamation's dates, language, and scope: Federal Register record for Proclamation 9551 of December 6, 2016. The original published pages are available below. These historical dates are separate from the website publication date of this article.

Full official proclamation text

Federal government text. Line wrapping and page-break hyphenation are normalized; page furniture is omitted. The reproduced signature is shown below.

Proclamation 9551 of December 6, 2016 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2016 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Seventy-five years ago, Japanese fighter planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, destroying much of our Pacific Fleet and killing more than 2,400 Americans. The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on the Congress to declare war and ‘‘make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.’’ In that spirit, Americans came together to pay tribute to the victims, support the survivors, and shed the comforts of civilian life to serve in our military and fight for our Union. Each year on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we honor those whose lives were forever changed that December morning and resolve to uphold the legacy of all who stepped forward in our time of need.

From the docks of Pearl Harbor to the beaches of Normandy and far around the world, brave patriots served their country and defended the values that have sustained our Nation since its founding. They went to war for liberty and sacrificed more than most of us will ever know; they chased victory and defeated fascism, turning adversaries into allies and writing a new chapter in our history. Through their service and unparalleled devotion, they inspired a generation with their refusal to give in despite overwhelming odds. And as we reflect on the profound debt of gratitude we owe them for the freedoms we cherish, we are reminded of the everlasting responsibilities we have to one another and to our country.

In memory of all who lost their lives on December 7, 1941—and those who responded by leaving their homes for the battlefields—we must ensure the sacrifices they made in the name of liberty and democracy were not made in vain. On this solemn anniversary, there can be no higher tribute to these American patriots than forging a united commitment to honor our troops and veterans, give them the support and care they deserve, and carry on their work of keeping our country strong and free.

The Congress, by Public Law 103–308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as ‘‘National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.’’

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2016, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn day of remembrance and to honor our military, past and present, with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this December 7 in honor of those American patriots who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.

Read the original published document

Read the original published pages

Historical document reproduced from the Federal Register. FORTISVEX is an independent publisher, not a government agency. Select an enlarge link to inspect a page at its full image size. The complete selectable proclamation text remains in the article above.

Open the original official PDF or download the source PDF. Your browser may open the PDF before offering a download control.

To read the original PDF file, open the official PDF or download the source document. Your browser may open the file before offering its download control.