“December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Although the United States resisted valiantly and heroically, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor devastated the American people, with loses of 2,343 military personnel, 960 missing, and 1,272 wounded. Japanese forces brought destruction upon the United States Navy, crippling its air and naval forces stationed at the harbor. Most notably, the sinking of the U.S.S. Arizona—a 600-foot long, 31,400-ton battleship, which was the site of of over half of the total casualties from the attack. Today, the U.S.S. Arizona acts as a resting place ofthose trapped within its bulkheads. Despite the possibility of recovering the remains, the United States erected a memorial over the sunken ship in 1962 and declared it a national landmark in 1989. Proponents of the United States’ decision to not disturb the ship, or those within it, see the ship as a “fitting resting place for [those] who died on board.” After carefully considering all factors at play and the sensitive nature of this issue, I say raise the ship.
