World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument

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World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
World war ii valor in the pacific.png
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
Location Alaska, California and Hawaii, U.S.
Area6,310 acres (25.5 km2)
CreatedDecember 5, 2008
Visitors1,574,156(in 2015) [1]
Governing body National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service
Website World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument

The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument was a U.S. national monument spread across the states of Alaska, California and Hawaii, honoring events, people, and sites of the Pacific Theater engagement of the United States during World War II. It was created by presidential proclamation in 2008 as a united site and was abolished in 2019 when each part was given their own individual identity. [2]

Contents

History

Prior to establishment, the only public monument dedicated to the Pacific Theatre in World War II in the region was the USS Arizona Memorial. [3] The monument was created on December 5, 2008, through a proclamation issued by President George W. Bush under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. The proclamation date was selected in anticipation of the 67th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 2008. This was the first proclamation of a national monument in Alaska since the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. [4] ANILCA limited new land withdrawals in Alaska without Congressional approval to 5,000 acres. [5]

The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed into law March 12, 2019, abolished the national monument. It split the monument into three individually distinct memorials. The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument was replaced with the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument, and Tule Lake National Monument. [6]

Sites

The USS Arizona Memorial and the mooring quays of Battleship Row, at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Naval operations in the Pacific 140330-N-WF272-400.jpg
The USS Arizona Memorial and the mooring quays of Battleship Row, at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
Granaries at Tule Lake Unit, Modoc County, California Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, California. Granery storage buildings, which are used to store . . . - NARA - 536902.jpg
Granaries at Tule Lake Unit, Modoc County, California
Atka B-24D Liberator on Atka Island, Alaska World war 2 plane wreckage.jpg
Atka B-24D Liberator on Atka Island, Alaska

The national monument included nine sites in three states, totaling 6,310 acres (2,550 ha):

Flag of Hawaii.svg Hawaii – sites administered by the National Park Service (21.3 acres). The actual shipwrecks of the Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma were not a part of the monument and remained under the jurisdiction of the US Navy. [7]
Flag of Alaska.svg Alaska – sites administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service as part of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge [2]
Flag of California.svg California – site jointly administered by both NPS and FWS (1,391 acres) [8]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Aleutian Islands WWII National Monument". www.fws.gov. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. November 24, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  3. ↑ "World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument Visitor Study" (PDF). National Park Service. p. 10. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  4. ↑ ANILCA requires Congressional ratification of the use of the Antiquities Act for withdrawals of greater than 5,000 acres (20.2 km²) in Alaska. "Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Alaska Challenges BLM's New Public Lands Rule in Court". Schwabe. October 21, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Text - S.47 - John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act". United States Congress. March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Description of the Memorial - Pearl Harbor National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)". National Parks Service. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Tule Lake National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". National Parks Service. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
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