In US, Joe Biden & first lady Jill visit WWII memorial to mark Pearl Harbor anniversary

On the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Tuesday paid tribute to the US soldiers and civilians who were killed in an attack led by Japan. The Bidens paid a sombre visit to the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, where they touched a wreath and saluted the former Sen Bob Dole, a war veteran who played a major role in getting the memorial built on the National Mall and who died on Sunday at age 98.

According to a statement issued by the White House, the first lady laid a bouquet at the WWII Memorial below the New Jersey pillar in honour of her father, Donald Jacobs, who served the nation during the war as a Navy signalman. The Bidens spent some moments there before they paused at the Pacific arch on the southern side of the memorial plaza.

Joe Biden & first lady Jill pays homage to Pearl Harbour’s fallen

"As we mark National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we honour the patriots who perished, commemorate the valour of all those who defended our nation, and recommit ourselves to carrying forth the ensuing peace and reconciliation that brought a better future for our world, " Joe Biden wrote on Twitter.

A week ago, Joe Biden, in a White House proclamation, spoke about the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, "thanks to the Greatest Generation, who guided our nation through some of our darkest moments and laid the foundations of an international system that has transformed former adversaries into allies," he said.

Pearl Harbour Attack

On December 7, 1941, Japan led an advance on Pearl Harbor and other locations in Hawaii, which resulted in the deaths of 2402 people, including US soldiers, leading to America's entry into World War 2. The attack on the United States launched by the Japanese Army aimed to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia. The Japanese strike on the US was referred to as the Hawaii Operation, Operation AI, and Operation Z. Japan was defeated by the United States in August 1945 after the US dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians and leading to the end of World War 2.

Image: Twitter/@Joebiden

With Inputs from AP