Dec. 7, 1941

Memories may fade, but the impressions some leave behind are infused into the minds of a nation.

Such is the case with the attack on Pearl Harbor.

While Dec. 7, 1941, survives “as a date which will live in infamy,” resonating in the minds of Americans as the beginning of World War II for the U.S., author and UCI professor Emily Rosenberg wrote a book taking the American perspective and memory beyond the usual history.

“Pearl Harbor is a highly symbolic event, an iconic event,” said Rosenberg, whose book, “A Day Which Will Live: Pearl Harbor in American Memory,” was published in 2003. “Pearl Harbor for so long was a central image that conveyed a sense of fear and danger about enemies, and that, to some extent, that symbolism has been supplanted with the images of 9/11.”

Rosenberg notes in her opening chapter how President Franklin Delano Roosevelt omitted the words “world history” from his historic speech to Congress and replaced those words with “infamy.” This, Rosenberg argues, was part of the beginning of a connection of American incidents that now live as tragic yet rallying symbols.

“Pearl Harbor became a symbol that supplanted an earlier value seen in Custer’s Last Stand,” Rosenberg said. “It’s a familiar story in American culture of being surprised and besieged by evil others and overcoming for victory.”

It is that symbolic framing of the historic event that has shaped the lenses with which Americans study the violent attack and the beliefs they use to mold memories. But Pearl Harbor has and will continue to take on less prominence as 9/11 establishes itself as a more recent symbol of the country rallying to overcome evil. Still, the memory of Pearl Harbor, just like Custer’s Last Stand or the Alamo, will not be lost because of its still resounding familiarity in American culture and the various lessons it taught.

The ripple effect caused by Pearl Harbor is noted academically and historically. It led to the United States entering WWII and also brought into focus the need for a strong military, foreign intelligence and readiness for the threat of violence.