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Justice delayed continues to cloud the legacy of Pearl Harbor survivors. Decades after the attack, the full story behind the military leadership remains buried beneath blame. We are here to help uncover and share The Story Within The Pearl Harbor Story, and you can help correct the record for those who served with honor.

Pearl Harbor survivors and their families have long fought for the restoration of Admiral H.E. Kimmel’s rightful rank. This correction matters not just for one man but also for truth, honor, and historical accountability.

You can support this effort by contacting elected officials and urging them to act. Here’s how you can help:

• Copy the letter text provided below.
• Choose your state from the navigation block.
• Click each representative’s link to open their contact form.
• Paste and personalize the letter for each official.
• Send messages to these national leaders:
  • Petition the President
  • Petition the Vice President
  • Petition Senator Harry Reid

Your action adds to the voices of Pearl Harbor survivors and strengthens the call for recognition and justice.

Month, Day, 2014
Your Name
Your Address

To:
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:
The 73rd Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack gives you a timely opportunity to right a wrong left uncorrected by your predecessors: posthumous advancement on the retired list of the Pearl Harbor commanders.

From 1984 to 2000, three former Presidents of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association led efforts resulting in legislation recommending the posthumous advancement of Rear Admiral H. E. Kimmel and Major General Walter C. Short to the highest temporary ranks they held during World War II, admiral and lieutenant general. This recommendation was reflected in Section 546 of the Defense Authorization Act for FY 2001 and was sponsored by then-Senator Joe Biden and Senator Harry Reid.

Though the Officer Personnel Act of 1947 allowed for such advancement, Admiral Kimmel and General Short were the only flag officers excluded, which was an unjust and punitive decision.

Led by Pearl Harbor survivors, this effort aims to restore the honor and reputations of commanders wrongly blamed for the attack. Former Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke stressed the importance of this correction to the Navy itself. In 1991, two former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairmen, six former Chiefs of Naval Operations, and one former Director of Central Intelligence, 33 four-star admirals in total, urged this posthumous advancement. According to their documented views, Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, King, Spruance, and Kinkaid would have supported it too.

It would be a noble and timely act to implement Congress’s recommendation. We urge you to do so before the last voices of our World War II generation fall silent.

Respectfully,
//S//

CC:
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Senator Harry M. Reid
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510