Pearl Harbor Day is time to reflect and thank World War II vets

Editor's note: Today, in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day, we are republishing our editorial from 2011.

Many presidents have given speeches that have etched a memory in our hearts and minds forever.

The fall of the Berlin Wall is often remembered with President Ronald Reagan's famous line, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, President George W. Bush gave an impromptu speech at ground zero encouraging the rescuers, and the country, with the words, "I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! ... and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"

Today, Americans remember another speech -- a speech marking the horrific events that took place 70 years ago.

In an address to Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt began his famous "Infamy Speech" with the words, "Yesterday, Dec. 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."

Today we salute those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor and throughout World War II. More than any other single event, the attack and its subsequent casualties forged Americans resolve to protect our shores at all costs.

The sacrifice these men and women made for our country is beyond a debt we can repay. Today, Pearl Harbor Day, we honor their memory.