Statement by Senator Ted Cruz on the 74th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

HOUSTON, Texas — Presidential candidate Ted Cruz released the following statement on the 74th anniversary of Pearl Harbor:

On December 7, 1941, a quiet Sunday morning, an ordinary day of rest became a "Day of Infamy." A day that took more than 2,000 of our service members and citizens. A day that set aflame Pearl Harbor. A day that ended any hope that the United States could avoid entering the carnage of World War II.

Americans rose courageously against the threat to our freedom. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan the very next day – before Congress, he spoke for the nation: "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."

Some four years later, our "righteous might" – rooted in a strong adherence to Divine order and consecrated through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Americans – defeated the forces who sought to extinguish our liberty.

Today, as we commemorate the brave souls who died that December morning 74 years ago, the memory is particularly prescient. Just shy of a week ago, the modern evil of radical Islamic terrorism penetrated the city of San Bernardino and murdered 14 innocent civilians. Though the circumstances are different, the need is ever present to remain a people of righteous might: for good against evil, for strength in the midst of uncertainty, and for an ever greater resolve to always protect the ideals that have made this nation a land worth defending.