Presidential Trivia Answers (Dec. 6 & 7)

Remembering the anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor.

(1) QUESTION: What type of protective equipment was attached to FDR’s wheelchair in the wake of Pearl Harbor?

ANSWER: A gas mask. One agent later explained that FDR’s gas mask “was tied to his wheel chair so that it would be ready for immediate use at all times.” Many other (then new) security measures were taken to keep the President safe. For instance, safe houses were created, and barriers were put up around the White House. In what was surely a novelty in the early 1900s, a plane was kept ready in case the President needed to leave at a moment's notice.

(2) QUESTION: Which President approved the creation of the USS Arizona Memorial, honoring those killed at Pearl Harbor?

ANSWER: Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1958.

(3) QUESTION: Which President was the first to visit the USS Arizona Memorial, once it was completed?

ANSWER: John F. Kennedy, in 1963.