Original Items: Only One Lot Of 16 Available. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 ignited not only anger towards the enemy, it also sparked a wildfire of patriotism in every American in all corners of the country. As the war effort was kicked into overdrive, Americans did everything they could to remind each other why they were fighting and what could be lost. A prime example of these reminders are the various button pins you see featured in this lot. In the early years of WWII how could you not remember Pearl Harbor?

The pins all vary in size and message, most of which bear the same message, “Remember Pearl Harbor”. The pins featured in this lot have the following messages and text on them:

- “Navy Yard 26 Pearl Harbor” 2” Diameter

- “Navy Yard 38 Pearl Harbor” 2” Diameter

- “Remember Pearl Harbor” 1 ⅝” Diameter: The pin is all white in design with 2 dark blue rings around the edges. Behind the text is a hand showing the “Peace” sign.

- “Remember Pearl Harbor / Keep ‘Em Dying” 1 ½” Diameter: The pin features a Japanese soldier caricature in the crosshairs of a gun sight.

- “Avenge Hickam Field / Keep ‘Em Flying" 1 ⅜" Diameter: The button is all blue with the text above and below the Army Air Forces white star with red dot. When the Japanese attacked Oahu's military installations on 7 December 1941, Hickam suffered extensive property damage, aircraft losses, and personnel casualties totaling 139 killed and 303 wounded. The bombing and strafing of Hickam Field was an important objective, because the success of the Japanese attack on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor was dependent on eliminating air opposition and precluding US planes from following their aircraft back to their carriers and bombing the task force. During the war years, the base played a major role in pilot training and aircraft assembly work, in addition to being seen as a supply center for both air and ground troops. Hickam served as the hub of the Pacific aerial network, supporting transient aircraft ferrying troops and supplies to, and evacuating wounded from, the forward areas, not only during World War II but also during the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War.

- “Buy Defense Bonds / V / Remember Pearl Harbor” 1 ¼” Diameter: Issued by the U.S. Government, they were first called Defense Bonds. The name was changed to War Bonds after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Known as debt securities for the purpose of financing military operations during war time, the bonds yielded a mere 2.9 percent return after a 10-year maturity. Living in the United States with a median income during World War II meant earning about $2,000 a year. Despite the war’s hardships, 134 million Americans were asked to purchase war bonds to help fund the war.

- x2 “Remember Pearl Harbor” 1 ¼” Diameter: The pins are in patriotic nature with an American Flag in the center.

- USMC “Remember Pearl Harbor” 1 ¼” Diameter: The pin features the text above and below an Eagle Globe and Anchor. Over 800 officers and enlisted Marines were serving aboard ships at Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese attack. There were Marine ships' detachments aboard the USS Arizona, California, Helena, Honolulu, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.

- x3 “Remember Pearl Harbor” 1 ¼” Diameter: All three pins bear the same message. 2 have the patriotic red, white and blue while the third is all blue.

- “We Did / Remember / Pearl / Harbor” 1 ¼” Diameter: The pin is all white with a red border and blue text. It is meant to be read “Remember Pearl Harbor, We Did”.

- “Remember Pearl Harbor” ⅞” Diameter: The pin is all white with a red border and blue text, one of the smallest pins in the lot.

- “Don’t Buy Japanese Goods / “Quarantine” The Aggressor”: The pin is a small oval shape measuring 1” x ⅝”. Local chambers of commerce decided to sever economic ties with Japan, workers refused to work in Japanese-funded factories, consumers refused to buy Japanese goods, and students mobilized to punish those found selling, buying or using Japanese products.

- “U.S.S. Arizona / 4th Anniversary / Nov. 16 1920” 1 ¼” Diameter: This is a pre Pearl Harbor attack USS Arizona 4th Anniversary pin. USS Arizona (BB-39) was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union and commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside during World War I. Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and remained there for the rest of her career.

Aside from a comprehensive modernization in 1929–1931, Arizona was regularly used for training exercises between the wars, including the annual Fleet Problems (training exercises). When an earthquake struck Long Beach, California, on 10 March 1933, Arizona's crew provided aid to the survivors. In July 1934, the ship was featured in a James Cagney film, Here Comes the Navy, about the romantic troubles of a sailor. In April 1940, she and the rest of the Pacific Fleet were transferred from California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a deterrent to Japanese imperialism.

On 7 December 1941, Arizona was hit by Japanese torpedo bombers that dropped armor-piercing bombs during the attack on Pearl Harbor. After one of their bombs detonated in a magazine, she exploded violently and sank, with the loss of 1,177 officers and crewmen. Unlike many of the other ships sunk or damaged that day, Arizona was irreparably damaged by the force of the magazine explosion, though the Navy removed parts of the ship for reuse. The wreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor beneath the USS Arizona Memorial. Dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, the memorial straddles but does not touch the ship's hull.

These pins are truly incredible pieces of history. They are welcomed into any WWII American homefront collections and come more than ready to display!