How to Honor Pearl Harbor Day

Depending on where you live, there are different ways to observe Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Plan in advance and set aside time for this important day to honor those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Instructions

1. Visit Mount Diablo State Park in the San Francisco Bay Area. An aircraft beacon is illuminated on top of the mountain, which was decommissioned on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese as a defensive tactic. It's only turned on one day a year--Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Survivors from the attack, along with other family and friends gather here to pay their respects--the public is welcome to join.

2. See the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is where 1,177 crew members died on December 7 in 1941, which began WWII. There is a museum, exhibits, bookstore and other events and sights that memorialize the event.

3. Donate money or time to a fund for the memorials or veterans of American wars. The Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum & Visitor Center has structural damage and needs donations to be rebuilt.

4. Research by going to the library, ordering Pearl Harbor books online, or watching movies and documentaries that retell the events of that infamous day in 1941.

5. Share what you know with someone else. Read a Pearl Harbor children's book to your children and make special crafts with them, like drawing battleships or sending thank-you cards to the survivors. Volunteer at a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day celebration in your town. Take a vacation to Hawaii and show your family or friends the location of the attack.