It is hard to imagine, but there were more troops killed that one day than there has been in the 11 years we have been in Afghanistan.

If you've never been to Pearl Harbor it is something you should add to your bucket list. The Arizona Memorial is very moving. One weird little thing that amazed me about the USS Arizona is that after 71 years, there is still oil leaking from it and rising to the surface. And not just occassionally, it is nearly continuous.

"... For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan's far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by fruitful opposition. American and Allied morale suffered accordingly. Under normal political circumstances, an accomodation might have been considered. However, the memory of the "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination to fight on. Once the Battle of Midway in early June 1942 had eliminated much of Japan's striking power, that same memory stoked a relentless war to reverse her conquests and remove her, and her German and Italian allies, as future threats to World peace."

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm



It's what inspired my father to enlist. When returning home from work one afternoon before he was to report to Great Lakes he was greeted with a draft notice. If he had not chosen to enlist when he did he would have been drafted into the Army as opposed to being in the Navy for the duration plus six months of the war.

The flyover this morning shook the whole house. Scared the crap out of me.

Nice job C A.

...a day that will live in infamy.

Japan forever proved to the world that you should never bring a knife to a gun fight.

My Father NEVER forgave Japan for this attack. Even though it happened two years before he was born. He was a hard core type of guy. He did spend 4 years in the Air Force in the 60's. He was at Homestead AFB during the Cuban Missle Crisis.

I guess Pearl Harbor was his Never Forget. (He never owned a Japanese car)

Curly J;1339537 wrote:My Father NEVER forgave Japan for this attack. Even though it happened two years before he was born. He was a hard core type of guy. He did spend 4 years in the Air Force in the 60's. He was at Homestead AFB during the Cuban Missle Crisis.

I guess Pearl Harbor was his Never Forget. (He never owned a Japanese car)

Sometimes it's crazy to sit back and think that something so terrible happened between the two countries, and now we are very much allies. It seems like something that'd never have been able to be reconciled.

Midstate01;1339540 wrote:Sometimes it's crazy to sit back and think that something so terrible happened between the two countries, and now we are very much allies. It seems like something that'd never have been able to be reconciled.

Understandable, but that was the way my Old Man was. He left us in 2004. That was just Him and I miss Him.

I now have a new Scion. Luckily he can't roll over in his grave since he was cremated.

Curly J;1339543 wrote:Understandable, but that was the way my Old Man was. He left us in 2004. That was just Him and I miss Him.

I now have a new Scion. Luckily he can't roll over in his grave since he was cremated.

Oh I don't blame him. I spend a lot of time over on the pearl side of base. And when there are Japanese ships in port and their men are walkin around base, I still have that feeling of like WTF. These guys' grandfathers killed people at this same place!!

But at the same time if you visit the USS Missouri, where the Japanese signed the surrender letter, and there is Japanese standing there. It's like HA! Don't mess with us.