The 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor remains one of the most pivotal and sobering moments in modern history, a day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared “will live in infamy.” Remembering this event is not merely an act of memorializing the bravery and sacrifice of the 2,403 Americans who died; it is a vital, ongoing commitment to understanding the fragility of peace and the imperative for a robust international order. The sudden, devastating nature of the Japanese sneak attack was a traumatic shock that shattered America’s lingering isolationism and highlighted the fundamental need for strong international law, a powerful United Nations (UN), and arguably, an independent UN military force to prevent such unprovoked aggression from ever recurring.
