Establishment of the World War II Valor In the Pacific National Monument, 75293-75304 [E8-29344]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President
• Presidential Documents

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75293-75304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29344]



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Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 8327--Establishment of the World War II Valor In the 
Pacific National Monument


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 10, 2008 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

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                Proclamation 8327 of December 5, 2008

                
Establishment of the World War II Valor In the 
                Pacific National Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Beginning at Pearl Harbor with the day of infamy that 
                saw the sinking of the USS ARIZONA and ending on the 
                deck of the USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay, many of the key 
                battles of World War II were waged on and near American 
                shores and throughout the Pacific. We must always 
                remember the debt we owe to the members of the Greatest 
                Generation for our liberty. Their gift is an enduring 
                peace that transformed enemies into steadfast allies in 
                the cause of democracy and freedom around the globe.

                Americans will never forget the harrowing sacrifices 
                made in the Pacific by soldiers and civilians that 
                began at dawn on December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor on 
                the island of Oahu. The surprise attack killed more 
                than 2,000 American military personnel and dozens of 
                civilians and thrust the United States fully into World 
                War II.

                America responded and mobilized our forces to fight 
                side-by-side with our allies in the European, Atlantic, 
                and Pacific theaters. The United States Navy engaged in 
                epic sea battles, such as Midway, and our Armed Forces 
                fought extraordinary land battles for the possession of 
                occupied islands. These battles led to significant loss 
                of life for both sides, as well as for the island's 
                native peoples. Battlegrounds such as Guadalcanal, 
                Tarawa, Saipan, Guam, Peleliu, the Philippines, Iwo 
                Jima, and Okinawa are remembered for the heroic 
                sacrifices and valor displayed there.

                The conflict raged as far north as the Alaskan 
                territory. The United States ultimately won the 
                encounter in the Aleutian Island chain but not without 
                protracted and costly battles.

                There were also sacrifices on the home front. Tens of 
                millions of Americans rallied to support the war 
                effort, often at great personal cost. Men and women of 
                all backgrounds were called upon as industrial workers, 
                volunteers, and civil servants. Many Americans 
                valiantly supported the war effort even as they 
                struggled for their own civil rights.

                In commemoration of this pivotal period in our Nation's 
                history, the World War II Valor in the Pacific National 
                Monument adds nine historic sites to our national 
                heritage of monuments and memorials representing 
                various aspects of the war in the Pacific.

                Five of those sites are in the Pearl Harbor area, which 
                is the home of both the USS ARIZONA and the USS 
                MISSOURI--milestones of the Pacific campaign that mark 
                the beginning and the end of the war. The sites in this 
                area include: the USS ARIZONA Memorial and Visitor 
                Center, the USS UTAH Memorial, the USS OKLAHOMA 
                Memorial, the six Chief Petty Officer Bungalows on Ford 
                Island, and mooring quays F6, F7, and F8, which 
                constituted part of Battleship Row. The USS ARIZONA and 
                USS UTAH vessels will not be designated as part of the 
                national monument, but instead will be retained by the 
                Department of Defense (through the Department of the 
                Navy) as the final resting place for those entombed 
                there.

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                Three sites are located in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. 
                The first is the crash site of a Consolidated B-24D 
                Liberator bomber--an aircraft of a type that played a 
                highly significant role in World War II--located on 
                Atka Island. The second is the site of Imperial Japan's 
                occupation of Kiska Island, beginning in June 1942, 
                which marks the northern limit of Imperial Japan's 
                expansion in the Pacific. The Kiska site includes 
                historic relics such as Imperial Japanese coastal and 
                antiaircraft defenses, camps, roads, an airfield, a 
                submarine base, a seaplane base, and other 
                installations, as well as the remains of Allied 
                defenses, including runway facilities and gun 
                batteries.

                The third Aleutian designation is on Attu Island, the 
                site of the only land battle fought in North America 
                during World War II. It still retains the scars of the 
                battle: thousands of shell and bomb craters in the 
                tundra; Japanese trenches, foxholes, and gun 
                encampments; American ammunition magazines and dumps; 
                and spent cartridges, shrapnel, and shells located at 
                the scenes of heavy fighting. Attu later served as a 
                base for bombing missions against Japanese holdings.

                The last of the nine designations will bring increased 
                understanding of the high price paid by some Americans 
                on the home front. The Tule Lake Segregation Center 
                National Historic Landmark and nearby Camp Tule Lake in 
                California were both used to house Japanese-Americans 
                relocated from the west coast of the United States. 
                They encompass the original segregation center's 
                stockade, the War Relocation Authority Motor Pool, the 
                Post Engineer's Yard and Motor Pool, a small part of 
                the Military Police Compound, several historic 
                structures used by internees and prisoners of war at 
                Camp Tule Lake, and the sprawling landscape that forms 
                the historic setting.

                WHEREAS much of the Federal property within the World 
                War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument is easily 
                accessible to visitors from around the world;

                WHEREAS the Secretary of the Interior should be 
                authorized and directed to interpret the broader story 
                of World War II in the Pacific in partnership with the 
                Department of Defense, the States of Hawaii, Alaska, 
                and California, and other governmental and non-profit 
                organizations;

                WHEREAS the World War II Valor in the Pacific National 
                Monument will promote understanding of related 
                resources, encourage continuing research, present 
                interpretive opportunities and programs for visitors to 
                better understand and honor the sacrifices borne by the 
                Greatest Generation, and tell the story from Pearl 
                Harbor to Peace;

                WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 
                225, 16 U.S.C. 431) (the ``Antiquities Act'') 
                authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare 
                by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and 
                prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic 
                or scientific interest that are situated upon lands 
                owned or controlled by the Government of the United 
                States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a 
                part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in 
                all cases shall be confined to the smallest area 
                compatible with the proper care and management of the 
                objects to be protected;

                WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve the 
                areas described above and on the attached maps as the 
                World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument;

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, by the authority vested in me 
                by section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 
                16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are hereby set 
                apart and reserved as the World War II Valor in the 
                Pacific National Monument for the purpose of protecting 
                the objects described above, all lands and interests in 
                lands owned or controlled by the Government of the 
                United States within the boundaries described on the 
                accompanying maps, which are attached and form a part 
                of this proclamation. The Federal lands and interests 
                in land reserved consist of approximately 6,310 acres,

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                which is the smallest area compatible with the proper 
                care and management of the objects to be protected.

                All Federal lands and interests in lands within the 
                boundaries of this monument are hereby appropriated and 
                withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, 
                sale, leasing, or other disposition under the public 
                land laws, including, but not limited to, withdrawal 
                from location, entry, and patent under mining laws, and 
                from disposition under all laws relating to mineral and 
                geothermal leasing.

                Management of the National Monument 

                The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the monument 
                through the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and 
                Wildlife Service, pursuant to applicable legal 
                authorities, to implement the purposes of this 
                proclamation. The National Park Service shall generally 
                administer the national monument, except that the U.S. 
                Fish and Wildlife Service shall administer the portions 
                of the national monument that are within a national 
                wildlife refuge. The National Park Service and the U.S. 
                Fish and Wildlife Service may prepare an agreement to 
                share, consistent with applicable laws, whatever 
                resources are necessary to properly manage the 
                monument.

                For the purposes of preserving, interpreting, and 
                enhancing public understanding and appreciation of the 
                national monument and the broader story of World War II 
                in the Pacific, the Secretary of the Interior, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 
                prepare a management plan within 3 years of the date of 
                this proclamation.

                The Secretary of the Interior shall have management 
                responsibility for the monument sites and facilities in 
                Hawaii within the boundaries designated on the 
                accompanying maps to the extent necessary to implement 
                this proclamation, including the responsibility to 
                maintain and repair the Chief Petty Officer Bungalows 
                and other monument facilities. The Department of 
                Defense may retain the authority to control access to 
                those sites. The Department of the Interior through the 
                National Park Service and the Department of the Navy 
                may execute an agreement to provide for the operational 
                needs and responsibilities of each Department in 
                implementing this proclamation.

                Armed Forces Actions 

                1. The prohibitions required by this proclamation shall 
                not restrict activities and exercises of the Armed 
                Forces (including those carried out by the United 
                States Coast Guard).

                2. All activities and exercises of the Armed Forces 
                shall be carried out in a manner that avoids, to the 
                extent practicable and consistent with operational 
                requirements, adverse impacts on monument resources and 
                qualities.

                3. In the event of threatened or actual destruction of, 
                loss of, or injury to a monument resource or quality 
                resulting from an incident, including but not limited 
                to spills and groundings, caused by a component of the 
                Department of Defense or any other Federal agency, the 
                cognizant component shall promptly coordinate with the 
                Secretary of the Interior for the purpose of taking 
                appropriate actions to respond to and mitigate the harm 
                and, if possible, restore or replace the monument 
                resource or quality.

                4. Nothing in this proclamation or any regulation 
                implementing it shall limit or otherwise affect the 
                Armed Forces' discretion to use, maintain, improve, or 
                manage any real property under the administrative 
                control of a Military Department or otherwise limit the 
                availability of such real property for military mission 
                purposes.

                The establishment of this monument is subject to valid 
                existing rights.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke 
                any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; 
                however, the national monument shall be the dominant 
                reservation.

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                Nothing in this proclamation shall alter the authority 
                of any Federal agency to take action in the monument 
                area where otherwise authorized under applicable legal 
                authorities, except as provided by this proclamation.

                Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not 
                to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature 
                of this monument and not to locate or settle upon any 
                lands thereof.

                 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
                
                

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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. E8-29344
Filed 12-9-08; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4310-10-C