Pearl Harbor Day: A Nation Remembers and Nevada Honors Its Own

On this solemn December 7th, America pauses to remember the morning our nation was thrust into war and awakened to its defining test of courage. President Trump’s National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day proclamation calls on every American to honor “the 2,403 brave warriors and civilians who died in the attack” and to recommit ourselves to “the cause of freedom” that they defended with their lives.

But while Pearl Harbor is a national story, Nevadans know it as a hometown story too.

Few icons of Pearl Harbor loom larger than USS Nevada (BB-36), the battleship that defied all odds. Under relentless fire, Nevada’s crew—many of them young men who had never seen combat—forced the ship off her moorings and attempted to leave the harbor. Even as bombs tore through her decks, her gunners kept firing back.

Nevada was the only battleship to get underway during the attack.

Nevada didn’t give up. And neither did her crew.

The ship’s name wasn’t accidental—it was aspirational. Toughness. Grit. Determination. Everything our state prides itself on, USS Nevada carried into battle that morning.

Hundreds of Nevadans served across the Pacific Fleet, including sailors from Reno, Ely, Carson City, Tonopah, and small mining towns whose names most Americans couldn’t place on a map. Families back home listened by radio as America learned the impossible had happened.

Some of those young Nevadans never came home.

Others returned and built the Nevada we know today—marrying, raising families, working our mines, ranches, and casinos, and quietly carrying the weight of history.

In today’s proclamation, President Trump reminds us that the legacy of December 7th isn’t just remembrance—it’s responsibility.

He notes that America must “strengthen our defenses, support our service members, and ensure the horrors of that day are never repeated.” The proclamation honors the Greatest Generation, but it also speaks directly to the one serving now—many of whom come from Nevada’s bases and Guard units.

Nellis Air Force Base, Fallon Naval Air Station, the Nevada Guard, Creech AFB—these installations aren’t just military outposts; they’re homes to families who continue the thread of service first defined in 1941.

Nevada’s identity has always been tied to service.

• More than 200,000 veterans call Nevada home.
• Nevada’s bases play a crucial role in America’s deterrence and training missions.
• Our state’s young men and women continue to volunteer at among the highest rates in the West.

Remembering Pearl Harbor isn’t nostalgia—it’s clarity. It’s a reminder of the cost of freedom, and the courage of ordinary Americans who rose to meet extraordinary stakes.

As President Trump’s proclamation states, “We honor the valor of those who perished, those who survived, and the patriots who answered their country’s call in the days after.” On this day, Nevadans honor them with a special measure of pride—because our state’s name sailed into that harbor and helped define America’s response.

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