Nation Must Not Forget Pearl Harbor

[herrmill]

In this day & age, this day sometimes is not be given the significance that is certainly deserved, a day that transformed our nation, along with the rest of the world, into what we know & how we live today.

Below is an article from today's paper that pretty much says it all:

Nation Must Not Forget Pearl Harbor

The drone of Japanese fighter plane engines broke the sunny silence that tragic December morning.

The planes dropped low and dumped their deadly loads, surprising and decimating the United States Naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,402, wounding 1,282, and sinking four U.S. Navy battleships, damaging four more, sinking three cruisers, three destroyers and a minelayer as well as 188 aircraft destroyed in the U.S. fleet.

The remains of many of the American servicemen killed are still entombed in the vessels resting along the harbor's bottom.

The surprise attack by the Japanese navy that ultimately drew the United States into World War II happened 67 years ago today.

Thousands of young Americans died that Sunday morning in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Their lives were cut short, tragically. Their sacrifice should never be forgotten.

And that is the point we hope to convey in this space as we reflect back nearly seven decades to the fateful events of Dec. 7, 1941.

With each passing year, fewer and fewer survivors from that day, from that era, remain to share the story.

It's a story that must be remembered -- by our generation, our children and our children's children.

Pearl Harbor claimed thousands of lives. It also altered the future for America and the world, as our presence in World War II eventually led to Allied victory.

If you were alive during Pearl Harbor, share the story, share your memories with your family and friends. Keep the story alive.

Study the history books and learn all you can about the event and how it shaped modern history.

Learn how our country rose from that disaster to lead the world into battle against those whose vision stood in stark contrast to personal freedom and humanity.

The story of Pearl Harbor is a vital one in American history. It deserves to be remembered.

On this 67th anniversary of the attack, we ask that everyone take a moment to remember.

[charlie eaton]

How can one forget Chuck, A high school classmate of my Mother's is still on board the Arizona. Still have the card he sent her not long before the attack.

[patmat2350]

Pearl Harbor signals:
http://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1228692890.html

And yes I'll be good, I won't say anything about Toyota drivers...

[AndyKunz]

Was that in a paper in China?!?!

Andy

[herrmill]

I was referring mostly to those younger than us who wouldn't know what the date meant unless they came across it on the news. The greater significance over the historical aspect of the day is how the attack transformed America into the power she grew into & the resulting influence that spread throughout the world.

Andy, no saw it on the web which is where I get most of my news. Except for an occasional editorial or op-ed, you'd not see anything like this in a local paper although the two main English rags, China Daily & Shanghai Daily, do use the AP for world reporting.

[norgale]

You need to see the movie "Tora Tora Tora" if you want a decent view of what led up to that fateful day. There were some warning signs but the upper officers who saw them and reported them were ignored by the upper upper officers. The incoming Jap planes were actually seen on a new radar and reported and the report was ignored giving the invaders the surprise they needed to make the attack successful. Good thing all the carriers were at sea that day.
"Tora Tora Tora" was the Japanese call sign to the lead aircraft carrier letting them know the attack was actually on. It's interesting that only a few years ago there was a Japanese car sold here that was called the "Tora".That was the model name but I'm not sure of the manufacturers name. I actually saw this name on a car one day and couldn't believe my eyes. Americans didn't know the term or had forgotten it and there they are buying this car with that name. I imagine that more than one Jap auto exec got a laugh from that. Pete

[Prins Willem]

A good book on Pearl harbor is At Dawn We Slept by Gordon W. Prange. He also did a book on Midway calledMiracle at Midway.

I had a uncle (Jim) (no longer living) who lived at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in the 90's. We visited him often and I always thought about all the history contained in the residents minds. It is a shame that it wasn't preserved. My uncle went in after Pearl Harbor. His youngest brother (Ernest) was barely 17 and wanted to enlist.The only way my Grandmother would let him join up was if Jim would go too to keep an eye on him. Jim was too old but he fudged the application and got in. They were in the same company but different platoons. Jim was a rifleman and Ernest was on a 30 cal crew. They went with MacArthur to New Guinea. Jim contracted Malaria which plagued him until he died at 96 years old. Ernest didn't make 18. A Japanese machine gun crew was a little faster than his (experience will tell).

At a model show some years ago one of our members had a Tamaiya Yamato on display. He and I were chatting when a little Japanese woman walked up and stared at the model. You could see sadness in her eyes and that tears could fall at any moment. Walter asked her if anything was wrong. She said that her husband had died on the ship. She pointed to the second turret and said that was his duty station. We didn't know what to say but Walter told her he was sorry his model brought her sad memories. She was embarrassed and upset that she may have offended Walter. She said it was war and many good men had died, that no apologies were necessary.

Children should be taught to learn, understand, and respect history. Every story is a personal one to somebody. From Thermopylae to Hastings to Da Nang to Basra, the stories are personal and merit remembrance.

[Boatfox]

A salute to the fallen.
These guys are a little early for Pearl, but the point is the same...stand for what you believe in.

[W.L Upshaw]

Years ago I was at the NW R/C Model Expo and I had the plans out for my 1:96 scale Yamato hull and an older Japanese man was walking by with his grandson, he saw the plans and stopped right away and was talking with his grandson and pointing at the drawings while talking. It turns out that he had served on the Yamato in the last year of her life and had been transferred off of the ship prior to its last sortie.

He asked some questions about the model and while standing there he bowed towards the plans in memory of the friend he had lost so many years before, there was no animosity and he was happy to have had the oppertunity to look over the plans. His grandson ordered a set of the drawings from me and he was going to hang them in his den for his grandfather. His grandfather never ordered a Yamato but he did order one of my 1:48 scale I-19 subs and they built that together.

[jeepers1940]

A 1:48 scale I-19 sub. Wow, that's a nice size model. Would love to have one, even if it was only a surface runner.

[craig_c]

Even as we are reminded of the day, as a culture, we have forgotten Pearl Harbor. 9-11 and growing isolationism are the proofs.

[ptjim]

my neighbor who used to own my house was at Pearl Harbor. He was stationed aboard the USS Houston. Tough old man not many days left for him I am afraid.

[Hoghappy]

Our carriers and their escorts got caught up in a storm on December 6th on the way back to Pearl and the escorts needed to be refueled to make it back. They were supposed to be their on the 6th. This is what may have saved our fathers and grandfathers a lot longer and tougher war. We used those ships to get back in the fight. All the men and women who serve are my heroes. I will never forget what they do or did!

[W.L Upshaw]

When I flew up to Seattle for Thanksgiving at my house up there and mainly to spend some time with my son before he deployed to Iraq, I met a old guy at the airport with a USS West Virginia BB-48 hat on. It turns out that he was on the Wee Vee at Pearl Harbor. He was back aft for morning colors and witnessed the destruction of the Arizona, he said the blast threw him about 20 or so feet and the heat singed the hair on his arms and that every thing was a mess.

[W.L Upshaw]

I should also note:
In the photo of the group of skippers at the TF-96 PH Gathering in Santee on DEC-6th, the guy on the far right side of the photo lost an Uncle on board the Arizona, he has the Pearple Heart that was awarded to his uncle with the proper paperwork.