Sunday, December 7th, is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Because of my concern that our young people are unaware of our country's history, I shall pull an Al Penwusser and present a post from last year.
The Veterans Administration estimates that 1,000 American veterans of World War II die each day.
Thus, we lose 1,000 heroes everyday, and with them go their memories and experiences.
The following photo is of the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu:
.jpg)
It marks the watery graves of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the Arizona on December 7th, 1941.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy, 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 were wounded.
War on Japan was declared the next day.
Nine survivors of the Arizona remain alive.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
I'm hoping the current generation feels the full weight of their sacrifice. Lovely post, Janie.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, too.
DeleteWorld War II facinates me. I don't know why, but it just does. In school, we had to read some books about the war and the holocaust. The Devil's Arithmetic is what I read in sixth grade. It was an easy enough book to understand (though I was reading college level in fourth grade so I can't say too much on that) but I don't remember it being a "kid book". I would highly recommend it, to learn history of what so many holocaust victims went through.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in WWII, too, Rachel. I think it's unusual, however, for someone your age to be interested.
DeleteThat is really sad. 1000 veterans die each day? Horrible. But it is definitely a must to remember them.
ReplyDeleteThey are elderly now.
DeleteHi Janie - I didn't know the date of the Pearl Harbour attack - but thanks for letting me know .. it's one of those more American parts of the War and those statistics are horrific, as is all War. Take care - Hilary
ReplyDeleteI don't think most Americans are aware of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
DeleteMy parents traveled to that memorial many years ago. I remember them stating how eerily quiet it was. No one visiting made a sound. Her brother survived the attack, but upon arriving in a California dry dock for his ship to be repaired, the ship caught on fire and he died there. My Godmother told me she watched the ship burn from her living room apartment. Quite a story, especially since my Mom and Godmother met in 1957- 16 years later. Thank you for remembering too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame to survive and then die in dry dock. My children have an ancestor who was a Union soldier during The Civil War. He survived the war, went to the victory celebration in Washington, D.C., and died there. We don't know what killed him.
DeleteNicely done, Janie. In recent years I have been shocked to realize how little young people know about our country's history. It is not enough that they learn to recite facts and dates. They need to understand the meaning behind the events and put them into context.
ReplyDeleteMost of us are busy focusing on Christmas preparations and it is easy to forget an important date such as this. Thank you, dear Janie, for reminding us about Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day coming up this Sunday. Take good care of yourself and Franklin and have a safe and happy weekend. I hope to reconnect with you next Wednesday. Lubbins!
The Hurricane took advanced placement history classes in high school. She said the teacher drilled the students on names and dates and places. That's what it took to do well on the AP test. I've always told my children stories from history. Lubbins from Frankie and me.
DeleteMore history fades every day. It resonates most among those of us who lived closer to the events. I listened to a discussion of the "new" anti-Semitisim in Europe and heard it remarked the memory of the Holocaust fades. I wonder what events will recall to the current generation the supposed goodness of mankind.
ReplyDeleteI will remember Pearl Harbor day and mention it to my grandchildren.
Janie, thanks for the reminder of this awful day in history. We all need to take a moment to remember those who fought in WW11 as well as other wars in history.
ReplyDeleteThe current generation has 9/11 as their date which will go down in infamy. I'm afraid they don't know much about the world wars.
DeleteWhat a good reminder that we need to honor those who served and those who died on that awful day. Hopefully, today's children will learn about it, but I guess it must be such ancient history to them.....
ReplyDeleteIt becomes ancient history as the people who lived it pass away.
DeleteThat memorial sits atop the Arizona. It is a very moving experience to stand on it & see the oil slicks still rising from the ship!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it is. My parents visited there after my dad retired from the military.
DeleteOnly Nine? Hard to believe that's all that remain.
ReplyDeleteThere weren't a lot of survivors when the ship burned. The few that remain are old men.
DeleteTragic.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful post.
Yes, tragic.
DeleteTwo of my best friends growing up had fathers at Pearl Harbor. David's dad was on the Arizona but NEVER talked about it. Don's dad was at Schofield Barracks in the Army. Both men have passed on, of course, Don's dad just a couple of years ago. And both were great men to know and raised great families.
ReplyDeleteI've never known anyone who was in Pearl Harbor. I had a Sunday School student whose grandfather was a survivor of the Bataan Death March. He wouldn't talk about that.
DeleteOne thousand per day? Wow, what a depressing number.
ReplyDeleteThey're leaving us quickly. The last veteran of the first World War died. One of these days, it will be the last veteran of WWII.
DeleteIt was 9/11 before 9/11.
ReplyDeleteYes. Each generation has its date that will live in infamy.
DeleteI've learned more from PBS documentaries about the war than I ever did in high school. Maybe it was still too fresh back then and historians hadn't decided yet how to present the story to adults, let alone the children. ;) ;) My dad was in the navy at the end of the war down in the Philippines but he never talked about it. You'd think we human beings would get sick of war.
ReplyDeleteSome people are sick of war. Others can't get enough. If a politician has an interest in a business that will make money from war, then that politician wants war.
DeleteA day that should not be forgotten
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your interest in history, Jo-Anne.
DeleteMy unkle Marvin Lee Ferguson died on the USS California at Pearl Harbor. The local VFW is named after him.
ReplyDeleteI will always remember that day.
I didn't know there were any survivors of the Arizona or of Pearl Harbor still alive today. I'd love to know what they thought of the "tribute" to that day, Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor movie? You know what, never mind, they've lived through enough, don't force that upon them. Pensive Remembrance Day (What? I couldn't say "happy" could I?).
ReplyDeleteWhen Saving Private Ryan came out, my neighbor, who was a vet, didn't want to see it. He was adamant about not seeing it. He said he lived through it and that was enough.
DeleteDid you know? Oh, why would you? My squadron was on Ford Island on December 7, 1941. Of course, they didn't have P-3s at the time and my father and mother were only children (even Common Core Math would indicate I wasn't there), but VP-11 was attacked on that tragic day.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Feel free to pull me anytime.
Pull or yank?
DeleteOh, now, was THAT necessary, Al?
ReplyDeleteOf course it was necessary.
DeleteWhen I was in school, we always observed a moment of silence in remembrance of those who died at Pearl Harbor. I wonder if the schoolchildren of today do the same in remembrance of those who died on 9/11. Probably not.
ReplyDeleteNice post, Janie. Thank you.
Everyone should observe a moment of silence on 9/11 and on Dec. seventh.
DeleteWWII history has always fascinated me. My latest novel is even set immediately post WWII. In other words, the younger generation has definitely not forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Younger Generation. I still have a hard time thinking of myself as Older Generation because I love to dance naked around my front yard to greet the dawn. I frighten the neighbors.
DeleteThank you for the reminder. And only 9 are alive seems hard to believe. I heard stories from my grandparents all the time about Pearl harbor so I guess it never seemed time wise that far away from me.
ReplyDeleteThe day will come when we will have no more WWII vets.
Delete