Sixty-seven years ago, at 7:55 am on December 7, 1941, the military forces of the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor leading to American intervention in World War II. The United States sustained approximately 3,000 casualties before war was even declared.
I had the honor of meeting a Pearl Harbor survivor many years ago. Not too many of them left these days.
Bruce: "I had the honor of meeting a Pearl Harbor survivor many years ago. Not too many of them left these days." John: The remarkable number, for me, is that there is exactly one living veteran of World War One, Frank Buckles of Charles Town, West Virginia; he'll soon be 108. (Someone at Wikipedia has done the helpful service of keeping track of all the veterans, worldwide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I)
I never met a Pearl Harbor survivor. I did have an old history professor who served aboard the USS Cushing in World War II and fought at the Battle of Savo Island (Iron Bottom Bay). I also had three great-uncles (two of whom I actually met) and three uncles who served in World War II.
When there are just three Pearl Harbor survivors left, they'll open a special bottle of wine and toast their fallen comrades; http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/dec/07/survivors-of-the-02/
I never met a Pearl Harbor survivor. However, the other day, while in a checkout line at a store in Fremont, Ohio, somehow the subject of Vietnam came up. I had to admit that I was a mere lad of 13 the day that helicopter flew off from the top of the embassy. The chap standing next to me in line said, "Guess who was actually there?"
A few years ago my wife and I traveled to Hawaii. I wish we had stayed... While we were there we wanted to visit the memorial for the USS Arizona. We waited in line for about 3 hours to get a ticket, and then waiting another 90 minutes or so to actually start the "tour". The whole time I was wondering if it was worth it, but when we got out there, I got the feeling it was. Although it was eerie to stand above a site such as that, it was also amazing to know what occurred there. I'd recommend everyone visit it if you're in Hawaii. (Just bring something to do while you're standing in line!) -Matt
My family is from Hawai'i (I was actually born in Kihei) and I've been to the memorial a few times. It's beautiful! And very solemn...
This is a photo that I found quite striking. http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/images/content/Free%20Attractions/USS_Arizona_Memorial.jpg
That is a remarkable photo. Thank you for it. The two times I went to the Arizona memorial, early '90s, the majority of the tourists on the boat were Japanese tourists. I wondered then, and still do, what they could possibly be thinking.
Not to make light of a serious subject, but I remember seeing a National Lampoon many years ago, with a piece making fun of the then-hugely popular G.I. Joe action figures. They had "new" (fake) action figures, including G.I. Kraut, G.I. Jap, etc. (remember this was awhile ago before PC arrived), with a short bio for each. G.I. Jap's said something like "He's willing to forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki if G.I. Joe will let Pearl Harbor go".
Hmm. I wonder what all the locals thought about some damn Yankee tourist like myself being on the boat looking at Fort Sumter when I was in Charleston, South Carolina for my brother's wedding twelve years ago.
Probably the same thing I was thinking while staring down at the bottom of the suicide cliffs in Okinawa and when visiting Japan. I was thinking that in all my travels people are people but governments can suck.
