Seventy six years ago the Japanese bombed Pearl harbor. It was an event that took place twelve years before my birth. A date that will live in infamy. That is what Roosevelt said and it was a deliberate choice of words. Often misquoted as a " day " that will live in infamy the word chosen was " date. " December the 7th , 1941. " For myself and most of us baby boomers, that date is ingrained into our consciousness. It is a date as familiar to us as 9/11. Sadly I think that date, December the 7th, 1941, is slowly fading into history. Our social conscious has changed over the last seventy six years. Is it forgiveness ? Or is it forgetfulness ?
My father, all of my Uncles, and many of the fathers, brothers, uncles and acquaintances of the kids I went to school with went to war as a result of that dastardly attack ! Franklin Roosevelt stated unequivocally that, and I quote, " No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. " There was no doubt, no hesitation, no second guessing our response. We went to war and prevailed. We were righteous in our wrath, simple as that. Today I am reminded of that as I listen to the morning news. Hawaii is testing their air raid alarms because of a foreign threat ! Yes, think about that if you will for just a moment. Seventy six years later and we still need to test our air raid alarms ! No, it isn't the Japanese we need be concerned with at this time, but North Korea. Just who did we get involved with following WW2 ? Korea. We fought that conflict, later correctly labeled a war, to a draw. To this day there is no peace treaty, just a cease fire. The leader of that nation threatens us, almost daily, and yet we hesitate. We do so because of our righteous might, that is my belief.
I was thinking about all of this as I went to retrieve a memento of that date. My wife's' Uncle George served in WW2 and had this banner saying, " Remember Pearl Harbor. " After his passing in 2015 I came into possession of it and have assumed responsibility of caretaker. I am honored to do so. I knew Uncle George well. Uncle George was a quiet man, steadfast and strong for many reasons. I have written of him in the past and so will not go into detail here today. Just know that he was a man that answered the call of his nation and was proud of his service. That pride was shown every year when he displayed that banner in the front window of his home. And now, it is my honor and privilege to carry on that tradition. I had to mount the piece to a backing of stiff canvas. I can't say with certainty how many years Uncle George displayed that banner but age was taking a toll on it. I'm certain Uncle George would be pleased. My own father served and I'm certain he is equally as pleased that I would display that reminder. We must never forget ! We must remain ever vigilant, standing ready to respond. Yes, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory !
This posting is intended as a reminder of that date. Seventy six years is a long time. The third generation following that date has been born. Let us remind them of what it took to keep our nation free. May they never forget. Remembering what has transpired is not an invitation to hate, not an invitation to prejudice, none of that. Remembering is honoring those that paid that price, on both sides of the conflict. Yes, the United States of America was attacked and we defended ourselves. We can take pride in that accomplishment. In our benevolence we allowed those defeated nations to rebuild and regain the respect of the world. We did forgive but we must never forget.
I'll leave you with this quote :
My father, all of my Uncles, and many of the fathers, brothers, uncles and acquaintances of the kids I went to school with went to war as a result of that dastardly attack ! Franklin Roosevelt stated unequivocally that, and I quote, " No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. " There was no doubt, no hesitation, no second guessing our response. We went to war and prevailed. We were righteous in our wrath, simple as that. Today I am reminded of that as I listen to the morning news. Hawaii is testing their air raid alarms because of a foreign threat ! Yes, think about that if you will for just a moment. Seventy six years later and we still need to test our air raid alarms ! No, it isn't the Japanese we need be concerned with at this time, but North Korea. Just who did we get involved with following WW2 ? Korea. We fought that conflict, later correctly labeled a war, to a draw. To this day there is no peace treaty, just a cease fire. The leader of that nation threatens us, almost daily, and yet we hesitate. We do so because of our righteous might, that is my belief.
I was thinking about all of this as I went to retrieve a memento of that date. My wife's' Uncle George served in WW2 and had this banner saying, " Remember Pearl Harbor. " After his passing in 2015 I came into possession of it and have assumed responsibility of caretaker. I am honored to do so. I knew Uncle George well. Uncle George was a quiet man, steadfast and strong for many reasons. I have written of him in the past and so will not go into detail here today. Just know that he was a man that answered the call of his nation and was proud of his service. That pride was shown every year when he displayed that banner in the front window of his home. And now, it is my honor and privilege to carry on that tradition. I had to mount the piece to a backing of stiff canvas. I can't say with certainty how many years Uncle George displayed that banner but age was taking a toll on it. I'm certain Uncle George would be pleased. My own father served and I'm certain he is equally as pleased that I would display that reminder. We must never forget ! We must remain ever vigilant, standing ready to respond. Yes, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory !
This posting is intended as a reminder of that date. Seventy six years is a long time. The third generation following that date has been born. Let us remind them of what it took to keep our nation free. May they never forget. Remembering what has transpired is not an invitation to hate, not an invitation to prejudice, none of that. Remembering is honoring those that paid that price, on both sides of the conflict. Yes, the United States of America was attacked and we defended ourselves. We can take pride in that accomplishment. In our benevolence we allowed those defeated nations to rebuild and regain the respect of the world. We did forgive but we must never forget.
I'll leave you with this quote :
“Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past. We’re so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about everyday, too many new things we have to learn. But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
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