Today marks the 65th anniversary of the attack on
Pearl Harbor. For my generation, it was just a part of the WWII history we studied in middle & high school. We knew it was something awful and big, but didn't really 'get' it. Despite my history studies in college, I don't think I ever completely understood how big the events of that one day were. After September 11th, I think that my generation finally had something similar to relate in terms of shock and loss of life. Although comparing the attack on Pearl Harbor and the
World Trade Center is like comparing apples to oranges in motives and ultimate outcomes; they both proved that the
US could not let its guard down, not become complacent and act indifferent in world events. I don’t even want to go near the current repercussions of September 11
th and the war in Iraq, because honestly, it’s too complicated and twisted to even think about, much less write about.
I do feel, however, that I cannot let this day pass without a moment of remembrance on my part. Paul and I visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona when we were in Hawaii on our honeymoon. Obviously, it wasn’t the most romantic place to go while vacationing in paradise, but we both knew that we had to take time while we were there to go and pay our respects.
We arrived at Pearl Harbor around 9am and amazingly, it was already packed. Despite the huge crowd (young & old), the place was eerily quiet. It was a very windy day and several times we had to run for cover from the wind driven rain. I vividly remember standing at the visitor’s center looking across the harbor to the moorings of lost battleships. I admit that I was thinking about the movie “Pearl Harbor” and trying to imagine what it looked like that morning while it was still quiet. I didn’t have to use my imagination for long as I vividly remembered all the History Channel specials with real footage and still images of the attacks. It was horrifying to stand there, right there, where ship after ship were hit, sunk and so many lost their lives. One event, a two-hour aerial raid that destroyed or heavily damaged 21 ships and 320 aircraft, that killed 2,390 people and wounded 1,178 others, that plunged the United States into World War II and set in motion the events that led to atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Wow. And here we stand 65 years later, amazingly on friendly terms with Japan, yet still fighting another war.
Today, stop and take a moment to remember the sacrifices of those who have fought and lost their lives to protect our freedoms.
Here are a few pictures that I took of Pearl Harbor on a bright, windy day in June of 2003.
View of Ford Island & USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri
USS Arizona from visitor’s center
USS Arizona Memorial up close
Mooring
Oil on water
Flag flying over the Memorial
Paul and sign
Links:
Link to the National Park Service's official site
Roosevelt's speech on 12/8/1941
National Geographic site on the attack at Pearl Harbor
