“…a date which will live in infamy…”. And today we remember. If you’ve not visited the Memorial at Pearl Harbor and stood above the sunken tomb that was the USS Arizona to pay tribute to the men who lost their lives aboard her on that fateful day 66 years ago today, it should certainly be near the top your list of important things to do. It’s a reverent, almost spiritual experience you will long remember.
You may not realize that, every year, the ranks of veterans who lived through that horrific day grows thinner. They are old men now. Their memories are still tinged with the sadness that comes from the realization that soon they will all be gone and, as with other landmarks in American history like Gettysburg and Antietam, it will be up to the rest of us to keep the remembrances alive and never, ever forget what happened on that impossibly beautiful Sunday morning when the world turned upside down and changed all of us forever.
0755, 7 December, 1941.
Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This is no drill.
John Renn sent me a series of photos a couple years ago taken during and immediately following the air raid on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. I’d not seen them before and posted them on my AFP web site. I’m linking to them here as a reminder of the death and devastation that wakened “the sleeping giant” and caused Congress, the following day, to declare war against the Empire of Japan. The war lasted nearly four years and was indeed costly by every measure. But it taught us that, when our cause is just and we possess the will to fight, we will be victorious. We must never forget.
Janet put together this nicely produced tribute video. It’s about five minutes long. Take the time to watch it. And remember.
Doug