On December 7, 1941, our Nation suffered one of the most devastating attacks ever to befall the American people.

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But like their grandparents on December 7, 1941, they courageously bore the burden that history had placed on their shoulders.

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For example, the President could conceivably have no choice but to authorize the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland in the circumstances of a catastrophic attack like the ones suffered on December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001.

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The Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, was a violent shock, but only in the nature and extent of the destruction: by then, most Americans had come to believe that the country would be dragged into the global war with Fascism one way or another, though their eyes were fixed on Europe, not the Pacific.

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