History of Hawaii
Pearl Harbor was surprisingly attacked on December 7, 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy, killing 2,403 people and sinking the main American battleship fleet. Fortuitously, the four Pacific aircraft carriers were not in port and escaped damage. Hawaii was put under martial law until 1945. Unlike the West Coast of the United States in which 100,000 ethnic Japanese citizens were interned, the Japanese American population in Hawaii completely avoided such similar fate, though hundreds of pro-Japan leaders were arrested. Pearl Harbor was the U.S.' main forward base for the Pacific War. The Japanese tried to invade in summer 1942 but were defeated at the Battle of Midway. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen passed through on their way to the fighting.
Pearl Harbor Survivors Association
The Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal, also known as the "Pearl Harbor Survivor’s Medal", is a 1.5 inch bronze medal (no attached ribbon) which was established by the United States Congress on November 5, 1990 (P.L. 101-510, 104 Stat. 1721) in memory of the 50th anniversary in 1991 of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The medal was issued from February 1, 1991 to December 6, 1993. The circular medal was not designed for or allowed to be worn or displayed on uniforms etc.