RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the USS Arizona has become the symbol of what can happen should the nation underestimate the danger of potential foes and is mute testimony of the need for military preparedness and alertness; and

WHEREAS, the tragic events of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor have been indelibly impressed into the memories of the survivors and the nation as a whole; and

WHEREAS, the wreck of the USS Arizona, which rests in the silt of Pearl Harbor, is a naval memorial that has crystallized a moment in time, with its death wounds visible and still bleeding oil, and the intact hull serving as a grave for most of the ship's crew; and

WHEREAS, the USS Arizona memorial is visited by millions of people who walk through it in quiet reverence, toss flower wreaths and leis into the water, look at the rusting hulk through the oil-stained water, and pay respects to the dead whose names have been carved on the marble plaque attached to the walls of the memorial; and

WHEREAS, the USS Arizona is a focal point of memorialization and remembrance of the ultimate victory against long odds, of death that is not in vain, and of true sacrifice and honor; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting that a stamp be created to commemorate the USS Arizona Memorial as a remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and the freedoms we possess, and to teach future generations about historical events that shaped the nation we know today; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the United States Postmaster General is requested to issue a USS Arizona Memorial Stamp; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the members of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation, the United States Postmaster General, and the Governor.

Report Title:

USS Memorial Stamp