Return to the List of Articles

HEROES OF PEARL HARBOR COMMEMORATIVE COIN

By Virginia Hall, Editor Emeritus

The "Date of Infamy" December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. No other date in modern American history is as memorable-still very much alive in the consciousness of a nation more than fifty years later. Addressing Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt aptly called it the "date which will live in infamy:" s Sunday morning when 2,403 of America's sons and daughters gave their lives for freedom. Today, the courage of those heroes and later, the many other American heroes of World War II, echoes across the generations. The men and women who died at Pearl Harbor were the first of many during World War II to give their lives for freedom; their contribution to the liberty we experience today cannot be measured. But some sense of these heroes can be felt at the battle site on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, a place of reflection where thousands annually come to pay homage to those more than half a century ago. The centerpiece of this historical scene is the sunken battleship U. S. S. ARIZONA-symbolizing both the horrors of war and the beauty of peace. Today, Pearl Harbor stands mute, the guns of war long since silent, an enduring monumental lesson for all peace-loving nations. The sacrifice of these men and women galvanized America to the defense of liberty. Their memory

Rallied the forces of freedom from a devastating defeat to the resounding victory four years later. Their legacy is the constant reminder that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. And so long as the spirit of liberty endures, the memory of the of the heroes of Pearl Harbor will be eternal.

Target Oahu

The morning of December 7, 1941 was like so many in the tropics-quiet, almost lazy-a Sunday. But it would be a Sunday like no other. At 7:40 a. m., before many of the American servicemen stationed at Pearl Harbor had risen, the harbor and surrounding fields were under enemy air attack. The surprise was universal. The Japanese launched over 180 planes in the first wave from a point 230 miles north of Oahu. Striking with deadly efficiency, the planes hit Wheeler and Hickam fields and pounded into the American warships anchored off Ford Island. So shocking was this initial attack, that only nine enemy planes were shot out of the once-serene tropical sky. The next wave came less than an hour later, pounding into crippled battleships and destroying grounded American aircraft. With one well-planned blow, the Japanese had sent

American naval power reeling. It was a day which spurred the industrial might of a nation into action and sent U. S. servicemen into the arena of World War II.

Heroes of Pearl Harbor Coin, the first coin in history dedicated to the Heroes of Pearl Harbor was officially issued by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a key battlefield of World War II in the Pacific. This legal tender $5 coin is about the same diameter as a U. S. Dollar-but even thicker-and painstakingly minted in gleaming brilliant uncirculated solid cupronickel.

The obverse of the coin appropriately features the profiles of the true American heroes of Pearl Harbor, a soldier, a sailor, and airman and a nurse. Rising from the smoke and flames of a burning American battleship, their resolute profiles symbolize the resolve of a nation. Paying tribute to these men and women, the coin is inscribed "To the Heroes of Pearl Harbor" with the dates "1941-1991" marking the fiftieth anniversary. The reverse of the coin bears the coat of arms of the Marshall Islands, an image which appears on all its national coinage. Minted in solid Cupronickel, the coin is 38.6mm in diameter, and is legal tender of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Minted only in 1991 in a limited quantity.

In Remembrance

For so long as the spirit of liberty endures, the memory of the Heroes of Pearl Harbor will be eternal.