Remembering Pearl Harbor: 67 years

By Michelle Malkin  •  December 7, 2008 10:09 AM

Never forget:

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Read this wonderful story of how a 13-year-old boy persuaded Pearl Harbor survivors not to abandon their annual reunions. The intro:

Two years ago, a waning fraternity of local men who had survived the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor thought their 65th anniversary reunion would be the last.

“We are all getting old now,” Jack Carson of Overland Park told The Kansas City Star at the time, “and it’s almost too much to get anything done.”

A boy named Quinn changed that.

Today, Kansas City Metro Chapter III of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association — now fewer than a half-dozen veterans — will gather again for the 67th anniversary at a Mission community center.

The task of organizing and promoting the reunion was seized by 13-year-old Quinn Appletoft, a World War II buff who happened upon the group about eight years ago. Last year, he served as master of ceremonies.

Recently, he distributed fliers at two Shawnee Mission schools. His fliers read: “We will remember this day with survivors. … You can hear their stories of this tragic day and look at artifacts.”

Refreshments provided. Quinn hopes maybe 10 kids will come.

“When you have these guys together, what’s cool is they tell their own stories. I think that’s way better than reading out of a textbook,” he said.

Across the nation, aging Pearl Harbor veterans groups have begun to fold their collective tents: A Massachusetts chapter of seven active members held its final meeting in June. In Nevada, the Silver State Chapter No. 1 of the survivors association intends to surrender its charter today.

But the Kansas City chapter has been revved up by the kid from Mission and by his classmates.

And here’s a new report on the “winds execute” message and what the US did and didn’t know.

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Previous:

Pearl Harbor: 66 years
Remember Pearl Harbor 2006
Pearl Harbor – 64 years
Remembering Pearl Harbor
An overlooked great American

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Comments


  1. #101
    On December 9th, 2008 at 7:16 pm, JHSII said:

    As for turning this rememberance and commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor into a disgraceful display – Bill alone can take credit for that. There’s nothing disgraceful about defending myself against a long series of visceral attacks.

  2. #102
    On December 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm, Bill Grant said:

    Yep, and here Bill goes off on another of his rants about how Conservatives helped elect Obama.

    Not conservatives, idiots.

    Not even close to being true

    Read. Then there were those who didn’t show up. There were 4.1 million fewer Republicans voting this year than in 2004. Some missing Republicans had turned independent or Democratic for this election. But most simply stayed home. Ironically for a campaign that featured probably the last Vietnam veteran to run for president, 2.7 million fewer veterans voted. There were also 4.1 million fewer voters who attend religious services more than once a week….etc..

    “Bill can’t even get my criticism of him that started his attacks in this thread right.”

    I LINKED TO IT. IDIOT. Here:

    “Bill gets 9/11 wrong again – no surprise here. He does a good job as a liberal plant.”

    What does that have to do with John McCain you moron? You can’t even explain what you meant by it, idiot.

    “All this proves is that Bill doesn’t actually read anything I post.

    Since it is spam I have read it over and over. The same stupid thing.

    “instead he turned this whole thread into “I don’t like you” and “drop dead””

    Wrong again. If you are going to claim that I said something on a specific thread the least you could do is read it to see if I actually did.

    You are confusing the threads that you have followed me around to make a fool out of yourself on.

    “Bill doesn’t like me. Duh.”

    Poor thing.

    “Too bad Bill appears fixated on proving how “superior” he is over me”

    That is your well earned inferiority complex speaking.

    “. We might actually be able to have a conversation “

    Not interested.

    “if he was half as “superior” as he feels he is.”

    When you use quotes it means that you are quoting someone. Where have I used the word “superior” regarding you?

    You betray yourself.

  3. #103
    On December 9th, 2008 at 7:39 pm, Bill Grant said:

    As for turning this rememberance[sic] and commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor into a disgraceful display – Bill alone can take credit for that.

    …Showing how classy you are, you started in with the nonsense.

    “There’s nothing disgraceful about defending myself against a long series of visceral attacks.”

    That you think:

    “On 7 December 1941 my father had just finished up primary flight training in Corpus Cristi Texas. He ended up going from Texas all the way to to Tokyo. He was 50′tall to me.
    Mom was at a skating rink. When they announced over the radio that Pearl Harbor was being bombed no one knew where it was. She would go on to work at NAS Alameda across the country where she met dad.
    Everyone tried to do something to help the country after the Japanese Bombed Pearl Harbor… When islamists attacked us on 9/11 killing more Americans we were told to go out and shop.”

    Is an “attack” just further shows how insecure and narcissistic you are. It didn’t have one little thing to do with you, idiot.

  4. #104
    On December 9th, 2008 at 7:40 pm, JHSII said:

    Bill trolls and lies again. Again and again he proves my points right.

    At least Bill admits he’s not interested in having a conversation. That’s probably the first truthful thing he’s said in the last couple of days.

  5. #105
    On December 9th, 2008 at 7:44 pm, Bill Grant said:

    Bill trolls and lies again. Again and again he proves my points right.

    Another divorced from reality piece of reposted spam.

    “At least Bill admits he’s not interested in having a conversation. “

    TAKE THE HINT, IDIOT. STFU.

    “That’s probably the first truthful thing he’s said in the last couple of days.”

    No, I called you an idiot, remember? Idiot?

  6. #106
    On December 9th, 2008 at 7:49 pm, JHSII said:

    For the record, my criticism of Bill’s comment was concerning this particular statement:

    Everyone tried to do something to help the country after the Japanese Bombed Pearl Harbor… When islamists attacked us on 9/11 killing more Americans we were told to go out and shop.”

    Saying “we were told to go out and shop” is like saying that Roosevelt responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor only by saying “Go out and start a victory garden”.

    Our response was a great deal more than that – then and now.

    Was our response not strong enough to 9/11? You bet. Our response was greatly weakened because the left wasn’t interested in declaring war on the terrorists – they were more interested in declaring war on President GW Bush. Bush couldn’t do the things that still need to be done because he caved in to the left in the spirit of “bipartisanship”. In that he was followed by a good number of Republican “leaders” that refused to lead.

    In WWII both sides of the aisle in America fought to win. Today only Conservatives seem to want to fight and win, unless you count the liberal war against the Conservatives.

    Care to read what I actually posted, Bill?

  7. #107
    On December 9th, 2008 at 8:02 pm, Bill Grant said:

    For the record, my criticism of Bill’s comment was concerning this particular statement:

    For the record, you are an idiot.

    “Saying “we were told to go out and shop” is like saying that Roosevelt responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor only by saying “Go out and start a victory garden”.”

    No, the obvious point that you sped over in an effort to continue hanging on to my every word like a creepy stalker was that there was more of an effort to mobilize the American population after Pearl Harbor. You concede as much, albeit WAY too late to not have made a disgraceful display of stupidity out of this.

    “Care to read what I actually posted, Bill?”

    No. I asked you to clarify here: ” What was “wrong” about that statement? Is it your point that the US population was rallied to the same degree to fight islamist terrorism as they were to fight the totalitarians in WW2?”

    You didn’t have a point. Your “objection” concedes that I had a valid point. You just wanted some attention and were willing to make a fool out of yourself to get it.

    This is your cue to start in with the spam again….

  8. #108
    On December 9th, 2008 at 8:11 pm, JHSII said:

    So Bill once again shows that he’s more interested in attacking me than anything else. He’s not interested in reading what I posted or refuting any of it, just getting in his shots at me.

    That’s ok, he’s a troll and a liar. His credibility gap has become a credibility chasm and he just keeps on digging.

    I do wish at least once he would at least make a feeble effort at provong me wrong.

  9. #109
    On December 9th, 2008 at 9:06 pm, Bill Grant said:

    So Bill once again shows that he’s more interested in attacking me than anything else

    So you once again show that you can only revert back generic responses like the idiot you are.

    “He’s not interested in reading what I posted “

    Just catching on to that?

    “or refuting any of it, just getting in his shots at me.”

    I did both, idiot.

    “That’s ok, he’s a troll and a liar. “

    Where have I lied, idiot?

    “His credibility gap has become a credibility chasm and he just keeps on digging.”

    You want to lecture on credibility after a few hundred “I know you are but what am I” posts? Face it, you are through in the credibility department. Your only consolation is that you were a joke to begin with.

    “I do wish at least once he would at least make a feeble effort at provong[sic] me wrong.”

    And you whine that I don’t read YOUR posts. Idiot.

  10. #110
    On December 9th, 2008 at 9:28 pm, JHSII said:

    You read what you want to read and see what you want to see, regardless of what is actually posted, Bill. That way you don’t have to bother actually responding to any of my posts. It’s a solid strategy – for a troll.

    Keep up the good Work.

  11. #111
    On December 9th, 2008 at 9:35 pm, Bill Grant said:

    You read what you want to read and see what you want to see, regardless of what is actually posted, Bil

    Just responded to them line by line, liar.

    “That way you don’t have to bother actually responding to any of my posts”

    More of a response then they are worth, idiot.

    “It’s a solid strategy – for a troll.”

    That really is projection. You can’t address what I wrote in a meaningful way so you cut and paste your whining.

    You really are an idiot, and you are no man at all.

  12. #112
    On December 9th, 2008 at 9:39 pm, JHSII said:

    When you attack someone for misspelling a word, that’s usually the first sign you’ve lost. In your case, however, it’s only the latest.

    Keep trolling, lying, and attacking though. It seems to be all you can do.

  13. #113
    On December 9th, 2008 at 10:36 pm, Bill Grant said:

    When you attack someone for misspelling a word, that’s usually the first sign you’ve lost. In your case, however, it’s only the latest.

    Where have I “attacked” you for “misspelling a word” you unbelievable pu$sy?

    “In your case, however, it’s only the latest.”

    In your case it is only the latest evidence that you are divorced from reality.

    “Keep trolling, lying, and attacking though”

    Keep up with the cut and paste BS. You are evidentially stupid enough to believe that continuing this is doing something other than making you look like a moron.

    Just what is it that you are getting out of this? Attention? Are you that hard up that you are willing to cultivate contempt? Are you a masochist?

    Naah… I am over intellectualizing your dilemma… You are just an idiot.

  14. #114
    On December 9th, 2008 at 11:03 pm, JHSII said:

    And once again Bill compares me favorably with Ronald Reagan.

    Thank you, Bill.

  15. #115
    On December 9th, 2008 at 11:07 pm, Bill Grant said:

    And once again Bill compares me favorably with Ronald Reagan.

    Totally out of your mind… moron.

  16. #116
    On December 9th, 2008 at 11:33 pm, JHSII said:

    Yet another favorable comparison of me with Ronald Reagan from Bill Grant.

    I didn’t know you had it in you. I continue to be impressed.

  17. #117
    On December 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am, Bill Grant said:

    Yet another favorable comparison of me with Ronald Reagan from Bill Grant

    See folks… He is totally broken.

  18. #118
    On December 10th, 2008 at 12:07 am, JHSII said:

    I’m simply doing what you do, Bill.

  19. #119
    On December 10th, 2008 at 3:02 am, Bill Grant said:

    No, you are simply an idiot.

  20. #120
    On December 10th, 2008 at 8:36 am, JHSII said:

    Another favorable comparison with me and Ronald Reagan.

    Way to go, Bill!!

  21. #121
    On December 10th, 2008 at 12:07 pm, Bill Grant said:

    And a nut.

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