I can only give them my solemn promise that they will get news just as quickly as possible. I deeply feel the anxiety of all of the families of the men in our armed forces and the relatives of people in cities which have been bombed. The casualty lists of these first few days will undoubtedly be large. The reports from Guam and Wake and Midway islands are still confused, but we must be prepared for the announcement that all these three outposts have been seized. Our forces in the Philippines, which include the brave people of that Commonwealth, are taking punishment, but are defending themselves vigorously. We have suffered a serious set-back in Hawaii. We must share together the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the victories-the changing fortunes of war. Every single man, woman, and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history. In 1941, also, Hitler invaded Russia-without warning.Īnd now Japan has attacked Malaya and Thailand-and the United States-without warning. In 1940, Italy attacked France and later Greece-without warning.Īnd this year, in 1941, the Axis powers attacked Yugoslavia and Greece and they dominated the Balkans-without warning. In 1940, Hitler invaded Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg- without warning. Later in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland- without warning. In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia- without warning. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia-without warning. In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria -without warning. In 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo-without warning. It is actual collaboration so well calculated that all the continents of the world, and all the oceans, are now considered by the Axis strategists as one gigantic battlefield. Today, it has become far more than a parallel. The course that Japan has followed for the past ten years in Asia has paralleled the course of Hitler and Mussolini in Europe and in Africa. And no honest person, today or a thousand years hence, will be able to suppress a sense of indignation and horror at the treachery committed by the military dictators of Japan, under the very shadow of the flag of peace borne by their special envoys in our midst. I can say with utmost confidence that no Americans, today or a thousand years hence, need feel anything but pride in our patience and in our efforts through all the years toward achieving a peace in the Pacific which would be fair and honorable to every Nation, large or small. It ends with the visit of two Japanese emissaries to the Secretary of State last Sunday, an hour after Japanese forces had loosed their bombs and machine guns against our flag, our forces, and our citizens. It begins with the visit of Commodore Perry to Japan 88 years ago. I have prepared the full record of our past relations with Japan, and it will be submitted to the Congress. Together with other free peoples, we are now fighting to maintain our right to live among our world neighbors in freedom and in common decency, without fear of assault. The Congress and the people of the United States have accepted that challenge. American ships have been sunk American airplanes have been destroyed. Many American soldiers and sailors have been killed by enemy action. The Japanese have treacherously violated the long-standing peace between us. Their challenge has now been flung at the United States of America. Powerful and resourceful gangsters have banded together to make war upon the whole human race. The sudden criminal attacks perpetrated by the Japanese in the Pacific provide the climax of a decade of international immorality. Transcript Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States
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