A day that will live in infamy

President Roosevelt's famous Infamy Speech was delivered at 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 1941, one day after the Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. The name derives from the first line of the speech: Roosevelt describing the previous day as "a date which will live in infamy".

Within an hour of the speech, Congress passed a formal declaration of war against Japan and officially brought the U.S. into World War II. The address is regarded as one of the most famous American political speeches of the 20th century.

Alaska was just a territory, but it would soon be playing an important role in United States History. Anchorage would be a staging area for the military. There would also be a big push to build a highway connecting it to the lower 48 and parts of the Aleutian Chain would be the first U.S. territory held by enemy forces since the War of 1812.