Difficult task
seen to get a
Pearl Harbor
Day holiday

The supporters are laying
the groundwork for what they
feel will be a long campaign

By Pete Pichaske
Phillips News Service

WASHINGTON -- Six weeks after the idea of designating Pearl Harbor Day a national holiday was first proposed, supporters are laying the groundwork for what they believe will be a long campaign.

"It's probably going to take a year, if not longer," said Gina Holliday, spokesman for Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., who came up with the idea. "A lot depends on how the veterans take this."

So far, veterans have been the idea's biggest boosters.

New York chapters of such groups as the Combat Veterans' Association and the Navy Seabee Veterans of America are gathering signatures nationwide in support of a Pearl Harbor holiday.

"We're getting them from everything and everybody we can think of," said Patricia Kaczor, secretary of the auxiliary of the Seabee chapter in Quinn's western New York congressional district.

"This is long overdue."

So far, she said, they have about 5,000 signatures toward their goal of 1 million by fall.

"We've had a couple say they don't want to have another day off for their employees," she said, "but generally it's going very, very well."

Nationally, veterans organizations have yet to officially endorse the holiday.

"We're dealing with a lot of other issues right now," said Alex Harrington of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Similarly, the proposal has languished in Congress, fueling speculation that a vote is many months away.

Quinn has failed to find any co-sponsors yet. And while the bill was referred to the House Committee on Government Reform, no hearings have been scheduled.

In the Hawaii delegation, Sen. Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has said he favors the idea.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has suggested proceeding with care before designating such a sacred day a national holiday.