MMA to hold 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor parade

HARLINGEN — Marine Military Academy will hold a 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Parade Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the MMA Parade Ground.

The entire community is invited to the parade, which is being held on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans are encouraged to attend as they will be honored during the parade pass in review. Family members of the men and women who were at Pearl Harbor will also be asked to participate in the parade pass in review.

H. William “Bill” Card III of Harlingen will be the guest reviewing officer at the parade. Card will represent his father William “Bill” Card Jr., mayor of Harlingen from 1987-98, Pearl Harbor survivor and World War II veteran.

The MMA Pearl Harbor Parade, which is on the same day as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, is to remember the 2,403 non-combatant Americans who were killed and the 1,178 who were injured.

The attack on Pearl Harbor happened the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. The Japanese Navy executed a surprise military air strike on the U.S. Navy base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Territory.

Because Japan wanted to conquer Southern Asia without any interference from the United States, it bombed Pearl Harbor to destroy the American battleships in the Pacific. The attack not only took the fleet but the lives of thousands of innocent people.

The strategy to keep the United States from meddling with Japan’s planned conquest backfired. The United States declared war on Japan the next day and entered World War II as a member of the Allied Powers.

The involvement of the United States helped the Allies defeat the Axis Powers and officially end World War II approximately four years later on Sept. 1, 1945.

MMA’s battalion-size parades are always held in front of the historic Iwo Jima Monument, a symbol of American pride for veterans and civilians alike. Although bleacher seating is available, parade-goers may bring lawn chairs.

AP Photo/Jesse Mendoza/Valley Morning Star The Iwo Jima Monument as the sun begins to rise Wednesday August 15, 2012 across the street from the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen.