WASHINGTON — President Bush on Friday established a World War II monument to those who fought in the Pacific.
The World War II Valor in Pacific National Monument will encompass nine sites, five in Hawaii, three in Alaska and one in California at the Tule Lake Segregation Center, where thousands of Japanese-Americans were detained after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
"The purpose of the monument is to remind generations of Americans of the sacrifices that Americans made to protect our country. But there's a broader purpose as well, and that is to remind generations of Americans about the transformative effect of freedom," Bush said in the Oval Office.
The president also signed a proclamation honoring National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
The 67th anniversary of the Japanese attack is today.
