A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (62131)
United States
December 7, 2018 9:36am CST
It's December 7th. That's Pearl Harbor day. On December 7, 1941, Imperial Japanese forces attacked the U.S. Naval Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The loss of life was staggering. It plunged the US into the Second World War.
I spent two December 7ths (1983 and 1984) stationed at Pearl Harbor. It was a somber place to be on that date, let me tell you.
If you've never been there or seen pictures, one of the most eerie things is that oil is still seeping from the sunken battleship Arizona. Over 1,100 men lost their lives on that one battleship, and their remains are entombed there. The Arizona Memorial spans the width of the sunken ship. I could never bring myself to go there. It was heartbreaking enough riding to Ford Island for a training course and seeing the markers showing where the battleships were moored that morning.
The war is long over, and those evil leaders have been replaced with individuals who have their country's best interests, and interest in making contributions to the world for the greater good, at heart, and we have a tremendous friendship with Japan. But December 7, 1941, as President Roosevelt said in his declaration of war speech, is a date which will live in infamy.
And a post-script: there are only five survivors from the Arizona left. None of them will be able to attend ceremonies today, making it the first time Pearl Harbor Day ceremonies have marked the anniversary of the attack without any Arizona survivors. There are thought to be between 2,000 and 2,500 Pearl Harbor survivors remaining...but the government, in its infinite wisdom, has no record.
A video about the Arizona Memorial:
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4 responses
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
7 Dec 18
I was wondering if Pearl Harbor would be mentioned here and guessed it would be you. So I don't have to do a post! It's been 78 years and I am afraid the significance has really faded with time and the attitudes of young people.
2 people like this
@Dena91 (15860)
• United States
7 Dec 18
@JohnRoberts "It's been 78 years and I am afraid the significance has really faded with time and the attitudes of young people." That is a very sad truth you wrote.
Thankful My niece and her husband went there and they were very moved by the memorial. Our nephew and his family are serving and are stationed in HI right now.
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@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
7 Dec 18
@Dena91 Anyone associated with the military are more likely to keep the memory alive.
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@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
7 Dec 18
I visited Pearl Harbour in 1993 as part of my trip around the world. It was sad though very moving. I feel it is awful the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in World War II. Rest in Peace the around 1,100 men that lost their life. That event changed World War II.
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