Pearl Harbor: 68 years
Never forget:
The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is here. Their numbers are dwindling, but WWII veterans who bore witness to the Japanese attacks on this infamous day are fighting to keep the memories and the history alive.
Ed Morrissey noted last year that former Hawaii resident Barack Obama couldn’t get his Pearl Harbor history right:
When addressing the crowd on national security, Obama mangled the attack on Pearl Harbor. For a Hawaii native, this tops the Young Gaffer list of historical fumbles (via Dean Barnett):
But it is wonderful to be back in Indiana. In a few moments, we’ll open up the discussion. But I want to offer a few comments about some of the emerging threats that we face in the 21st century and offer some ideas about how we can face those threats.
Throughout our history, America’s confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor, to the threat of nuclear annihilation. Americans have adapted to the threats posed by an ever-changing world.
Just to clarify: a whole lot of bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. And the threat wasn’t the bomb, it was the empire that sent massive waves of planes to drop them on our Pacific Fleet. Those bombs fell because we didn’t adapt to the threat, and in fact we kept telling ourselves that we could talk the Japanese out of their policy of aggression and empire. We came within a few aircraft carriers of losing the Pacific out of our willful blindness to the nature of the Japanese.
Those who mangle history…
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Not just bombs. Don’t forget the torpedoes. They did most of the damage.
My sister in law’s father was aboard the Arizona, one of the survivors of that attack.
Never forget, so that we will never be unprepared!
If you want to make sure there are more Pearl Harbors and more 9/11′s in the future, all we need do is pass Obamacare. It is no coincidence that Canada and Europe have come to depend on us for their national security — nations with socialized medicine cant afford to defend themselves.
You want Canadian style healthcare? then prepare to have a Canadian style military.
The worst military defeat the United States ever suffered, and the biggest mistake the Japanese ever made.
The worst electoral mistake the United States ever made happened on November 4th, 2008, when the sheeple elected such a rank amateur to be our nation’s President. May that mistake become a thorough defeat of the foolish, misguided policies of liberalism.
We will never forget the valiant fight our Fathers fought after that sneak attack by our enemies. The heroism that day and in the years that followed rivals that of Homer’s heroes.
For those who perished that day and in the years that followed I pray:
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord,
And let perpetual Light shine upon them.
May their souls
And the souls of all the faithful departed
Through the Mercy of God
Rest in peace.
Amen.
As for today, well, Obama has demonstrated he truly is just Amateur in Chief. A Chicago Thug more interested in replacing capitalism with socialism than defend our Great Country.
I often wonder how history books will read in another 50 years or so.
Days that will live in Infamy:
7 Dec., 1941
11 Sept., 2001
Election Day 2008
I wish to be associated with these remarks: well said.
Moments when the enemy struck.
2 took military intervention, the latter may as well.
Jeez. Thanks for the reminder that Barack confused Pearl Harbor with Hiroshima.
Oliver North’s War Stories was devoted to Pearl Harbor this week – examining who was responsible and how it happened. Fascinating stuff which I recommend if it happens to be re-run.
Makes the sorry state of affairs of our country all the more poignant. Our brave young men at Pearl Harbor and afterwards gave their lives knowing their country and its principles of freedom and opportunity were worth defending. We still breathe the sweet air of liberty because of what they gave to us. It is our job to make sure their sacrifices were not in vain.
When men were men. God bless them all.
The USS Barbel was bombed out of existence 2/4/45 by the Japanese – my brother was part of the crew. The significance of that war is their surrender. God bless our military and all those on eternal patrol.
And let’s not forget that only three days after Pearl Harbor the US suffered another disaster in the Phillipines as the Japanese attacked and destroyed the US air fleet that was at Clark Field, forced our men back to Bataan and then came the infamous Bataan death march. Again lack of preparedness an
Thanks for remembering, Michelle. I wonder how many teachers in the USA will tell the children about this day?
May God bless our military, our country, and the remaining World War Two Veterans who kept us free.
He sounds like a valley girl.
Taking Obama to task for dropping an ‘s’ on the word ‘bomb’ is ODS at it’s best. Yep, it was a gaffe, a grammatical gaffe. It can even be called a typo.
Good greif! Take the man to task and do it over substance. This is one category below VP Biden’s three letter word ‘J-O-B-S’. That can be made fun of, and dropping an ‘s’ is small potatoes.
Accurately, I might add. In Barry’s world, and his education, “the bomb” may have preceded Pearl Harbor.
Duh One has a pre 12/7/’41 mindset.
Don’t forget 19 April, 1995.
Today I have the honor of being present at the ribbon cutting ceramony for the opening of the National Musem of the Pacific War, G H W Bush Gallary in Fredericksburg, TX. As a daughter of a WWII Vet who faught in the Pacific I feel humble to in the presence of such great men and women who served. To honor them is to honor those who serve today.
Kindly explain then why looney leftwing liberals hammered Vice President Dan Quayle over his spelling (actually the spelling on the flash card he was holding) of “Potato”.
Hello? Mr President??? IRAN
Many years ago we would have a memorial for December 7. Being a little town almost everyone would show up. We remembered and honored our heroes. It seems as if almost every adult I knew had something or somebody to do with the war-my father and uncles most certainly.
We had our cowards and traitors then-but if they had half a brain they kept their mouths shut after Pearl Harbor. Bill Maher, George Carlin, Ward Churchill types were certainly around; if they had of mocked our dead the American people would have torn them to pieces.
Different generation, different time; mock our dead and get elected to the Senate, become a talking head on TV, get tenure-phony charges against Navy SEALs and get a pat on the head.. Pray for the Day of Reckoning. The American people would have torn them to pieces ll.
TEA Party, anyone?
—
Remember: If you must Feed the Trolls feed them to the alligators
Weakling have no place in this discussion.
Please tell these brave men “thank you.”
Although those two words (thanking them for their service and sacrifice) are not adequate to what we owe them. Our World War Two vets are dying at a rate of 1000 per day. If you know a World War Two Vet, thank and honor him today and every day.
I am the proud daughter of a WWII Marine (1st Division) who fought in the Pacific. He was my hero.
To be sure, I will. Too many of my 7th grade students don’t understand their world or history. Mostly because their parents don’t tell them or don’t care either.
Not a word in the Houston Chronicle which doesn’t surprise me now that the Woodstock generation is running the country.Their belief is we can listen to music around lit candles and talk to our foes and solve all the problems.
On December 7th, 2009 at 7:23 am, Send_Me said:
I often wonder how history books will read in another 50 years or so.
It will be a footnote in the history books if mentioned at all. If is is discussed our PC culture will probably blame US foreign policy for causing it.
Because, like VP Biden’s gaffe it was funny.
I am all for making fun of people, Pres Obama included. Make fun of Pres Obama for dropping the ‘s’ but to take it to the next level suggesting he does not know history is ODS.
It was not ‘mangled history’ it was a grammatical gaffe.
VP Quayle and VP Biden made grammatical gaffes, as did Obama. Make fun of them for that and avoid making untennable links.
I had an uncle on the Utah when it was bombed. Thankfully he survived but so many did not. There are so precious few WW11 vets alive today, and they should be held with great honor. All our military should be held with honor as well as their families. God bless our wonderful Republic.
L
Y’all, ignore zyzzyg as he is a troll who steals post’s conversations that he does not want. Do not feed this troll.
zyzzyg,the MSM took Quayles “gaffe” up beyond the next level for several weeks.They hammered it until they made him look stupid and it worked.
I thought it was so appropriate to anchor the USS Missouri next to the Arizona.
docflash said:
Didn’t see the MSM beat Plugs over his plugged head to keep him from the VP slot, or Senate for that matter.
In ’42 the battle cry became “Remember Pearl Harbor” and we didn’t forget. Now our battle cry is “He’s not a terrorist” or “We will leave in 2010″.
Decemebr 7,1941 was a scary day and I or others of that time won’t forget.
UMMMM – because he does not know history. Proof? Look at his record.
Stimulus = epic failure (X’s 2)
It worked so well he followed it with:
Cash for clunkers = epic failure
Obama-care is just a rerun of other failed government programs tried in other countries. All he has to do is look into the success of our own government run programs and learn but…NOOOOO.
I am sure he has no idea about the attacks on PH. I am a Navy brat and lived in Hawaii. To use “bomb” or “bombs” is just stupid. There were other words he could have used to get his point across. How about “unprovoked attack” of “terrorist attack”? Okay, I know the Boy Wonder would never use “terrorist attack”. He would use “man made disaster”. The Boy Wonder is an IDIOT.
Thank goodness we had real miltary leaders who took the fight to the enemy during those days. This country would look a lot different if that battle had to be fought today.
Day of infamy fading from memory link.
On the subject of our military hero’s, please pray for the three Navy Seals on trial today.
L
Cryin’ shame the world we live in today. Good thing today’s libs weren’t running the country in the 40′s, or the USA would be a smoking hole by now, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Yes, please ignore me. That would be typical liberal behaviour. And, that is do not address the actual issue and attack the messenger vice speaking to the actual facts.
Ask me a question or take me to task, and I will respond. Don’t ask me a question or don’t take me to task and I will not respond. I have said it as plainly as I could, even a liberal like you can understand it.
Yes, that is true. He was made fun of relentlessly.
Odumbo thinks Pearl Harbor is where pearls come from.
I thought today was to pass without anyone mentioning PEARL HARBOR… Thank you MM… In spite of the people who practice REVISIONIST HISTORY, the UNITED STATES was attacked on December 7th, 1941… MAY WE ALWAYS REMEMBER, MAY WE NEVER FORGET!!! To all those of THE GREATEST GENERATION, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
On December 7th, 2009 at 8:29 am, Buy Danish said:
Yes, when people talk about “the bomb”, they are talking about the atomic bomb.
I don’t think obama was “confused” when he said “the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor”. And I don’t think he was “confused” when he said he had visited “57 states”. I think both of those statements were pre-planned. Obama’s “core values” are the same as those of “Rev” Jeremiah Wright and Louis F@rr@kh@n. Have you watched video of either one of those two talking about how the U.S.A. dropped “the bomb”?
Someone please show me where Obama’s agenda is any different from the agenda of the Nation of Islam.
Someone please show me where Obama’s agenda is any different from the agenda of the Communist Party USA.
Again, I don’t think Obama was confused when he said:
The Islamo-marxists see the U.S.A as an oppressive “Empire”, and think God should “damn America” because we dropped “the bomb” on another country. They believe America needs to be brought to its knees.
Z,
I will ask you a question.
Look at YouTube or read Obama’s Memorial Day speech on Memorial Day 2008, when he was still a candidate.
After you read the speech or watch it, please answer the following question, In May 2008 do you think, based on his remarks, Obama had any idea what Memorial Day was?
He did not have a clue. That’s not ODS; that is Obama revealing who and what he is.
***
Many younger people never heard of WW2–or don’t care about the history of how close we came to losing it.
***
When I was a teenager in the 1950′s the excellent VICTORY AT SEA films made it real clear how bad things were–and how the American Military and People “sucked it up” and won. No compromise–just unconditional victory–no matter what the cost or how many enemies stood in the way.
***
The HISTORY CHANNEL has excellent programs with films and information from the Allied and Axis archives. Two excellent books on this era are THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH and THE COLLAPSE OF THE FOURTH REPUBLIC. I read them long ago–excellent insights into how the failures to take action when upcoming threats could be eliminated at reasonably low costs resulted in much more loss of life later.
***
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN as IRAN NUKES UP–ditto NORTH KOREA. Like Hayakawa said, “Those who fail to understand the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it’s mistakes!”.
***
John Bibb
***
This had new meaning for me when I re-read it this weekend:
In other words,
Thanks for sharing this Godly wisdom.
We have forgotton, or perhaps never knew, what the generation that fought WWII understood. These men, these heroes, marched into hell on earth because of what happened on this day in history.
It’s no small coincidence that the last war we won was WWII. What happened after that? Starting with Korea, we let others dictate how we waged war. Starting with Vietnam we started becomming more concerned with civil liberties and the nonsense that “people have a right to know” than winning a war.
From there we went to leftists complaining that we lost 2,500 servicemen in the first three years in the Iraqi theater of war. As a nation, we have become craven and complacent.
The giants of our grandfathers and fathers time lost, in one battle (Iwo Jima), 6,800 men in 36 days.
These men, these legends, knew that to win a war, you have to be willing to fight a war. That if necessary, you must be willing to obliterate cities to bring your enemy to where they are willing to surrender unconditionally.
And now? Now, as a nation, we question whether the events at Ft Hood are terrorism and if the murderer who hid behind an Army uniform is a terrorist. Now we settle for politicians to scared to call the enemy a terrorist, giving that label to the men and women sworn to defend us. And instead of obliterating a city, we whine and complain if a single smart-bomb goes off course and hurts a civilian.
Is it any wonder we have not won a war since WWII?
These men who did so much to secure our liberty did perhaps to much to also secure our comfort when they came home. They strived to make sure that their children and grandchildren would have the comfort and opportunities they lacked growing up in the era of the Great Depression and WWII.
They did their jobs to well on the homefront. We have forgotton what they knew instinctively, that to defeat an enemy you first have to be willing to name your enemy. Then you have to be willing to wage all out war on them until they are brought to their knees.
We owe these men our lives and our lifestyles. And while we do our best to thank them, have we really done justice to what these men left us? We have taken the gift, and forgotton the lesson.
We owe these men more than thanks today. We also owe these men that loved their nation so dear as to spend years in hell, and then the rest of their lives reliving that hell when they closed their eyes at night, an apology for letting things come to where they are today.
When the subject of Hiroshima and Nakasaki come up, please be prepared with ALL the facts. Without a doubt the atomic bombs were the most horrible weapon the world has known… but always know how those numbers compare with the total destruction caused by the Imperial Army.
You can get a summary of the almost always unmentioned deaths by clicking here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy_Speech
ww2 shows the difference between america acting for it’s own defense and letting it’s generals fight the war. all wars since show the effect of the U.N.’s involvement in wars. 1) they never end because no one is allowed to decisively beat the other into submission, ie drop the big one on them. 2) they cost america mountains of money because we are the enforcement AND the rebuilding entity. 3) the mouse that roared factor is in full swing at the U.N. (let’s have the u.s. fix it) since the u.n. is TOTALLY INCOMPETENT TO DO ANYTHING.
And the fact that as the sitting president he bowed to the Emperor of Japan (among others) he should be removed from office.
God bless all of our military in service and retired. Freedom is not free.
On-My-Soap-Box, not to quibble, but describing the attack at Pearl Harbor as terrorism is incorrect. It was a sneak attack certainly, but made by a uniformed military force. It was an act of war by a standing military.
Yes.
See how easy it is to ask and have a question answered.
Dropping an ‘s’ on a word is not enough substance to challenge anyone’s knowledge of history to call it mangled.
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm
I eat sushi and bratwurst because I like to and not because I must. I have that choice because of America’s veterans.
I put the flag at half mast this morning and it will stay there until sunset. I haven’t heard anything from the local media, how soon some can forget. It seems that the military does the dirty work, and the worthless politicians take the credit.
I think you give Obowma MUCH more credit than he will ever deserve with regard to his ability to say what he means on his feet, when he isn’t reading words other people have prepared for him verbatim from a teleprompter. To say that what he said about “57 states” and “the bomb” the Japanese “dropped on Pearl Harbor” was purposeful is like talking about his uncle who helped to liberate Auschwitz and asthmatic children using “breathalyzers” (among MANY other things) was purposeful.
The man is a mindless puppet, and that’s pretty much all there is to it.
Yes he is-but he has the power of the Presidency and is surrounded by some of the most evil, vile and clever Leftist we have ever had to fight. His is the team that knee capped the Arkansas mafia. As they knee capped them they are doing a credible job of knee capping America.
I worry that Eric Holder, Janet Napolitana and the Federal Election Commission will make the elections of 2010 irrelevant. I await the Pearl Harbor like event making it possible for them to do so. HeWhoWonOne-aka: Blue Lips w/ears- did promise to “fundamentally change America“.
Pearl Harbor: where all those racist sailors opened fire on the Japanese for no reason?
Thanks Michelle – I have a family member still on the U.S.S. Arizona.
If any of you are ever in Honolulu, the memorial is a must see.
The Wisconsin football team visited the memorial, and the ESPN announcers said they were respectful and reflective – kudos to them.
Never, ever, for a moment forget that December 8, 1941 is the last time that the U.S. Congress declared WAR on another country.
Not Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I, the Balkans……Never again. Such consensus is impossible with the nut cases that occupy Washington nowadays.
President Roosevelt never told the Japanese when we would be leaving Japan, either.
I’m for that. Too bad we don’t have leaders in the military that we had back in 1941, I love to see Patton give barry hussein a big old smack upside his pointy head while yelling, “I don’t believe you were born in Hawaii, you big pu$$y!”
Much like our Boy Wonder PINO, I didn’t let a fact stand in my way of what I thought was a good segue into “man made disaster”.
I count myself fortunate indeed that I am able to drive past the USS Arizona Memorial every morning on the way to work at Ford Island.
I disagree that Pearl Harbor was the worst defeat in American history. Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack. Not long after the landings on Guadalcanal in August 1942, the navy suffered a lopsided defeat off Savo Island in which the heavy cruisers protecting the invasion force were sunk in a surface battle with no Japanese losses. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison calls this defeat worse than Pearl Harbor because we knew of the Japanese force and our battle tactics failed anyway.
By the way, all 26 episodes of “Victory at Sea” have been posted on YouTube, complete with Richard Rodgers’s great score. For 1952, some of the footage shown was quite graphic, and the liberation of Manila is heartbreaking in its tragedy.
America’s Big Surrender: The surrenders of American forces in the Philippines, Wake and Guam were our biggest military defeats.
The Bataan Death March, Palawan, and the murder of civilians on Wake Island justified five or six more a-bombs.
God Bless the Enola Gay and friends or all our our people may have died such.
Today the Japanese have whitewashed Pearl Harbor out of their history, except to say that “we made them do it” when we slapped them with an asset freeze and a trade embargo for what they were doing in China and French Indochina.
Meanwhile, over here we are simply letting ourselves forget the whole thing ever happened.
So there’s a symmetry of sorts: on December 7, 1941, most Americans couldn’t have shown you where Pearl Harbor was on a map. And today … same thing.
The difference is, back then Americans could’ve told you that Franklin Roosevelt was President. I doubt today that most Americans could properly situate Roosevelt historically.
On a related note, I read in the news today that a strong case has been made that the 5th Japanese midget submarine that participated in the attack has finally been found, possibly ending one of the enduring mysteries of that day.
On December 7th, 2009 at 12:38 pm, AlohaGuy said:
I visited the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial over 20 years ago, and the memories of it are still very fresh.
It is important to remember that at the very time the Imperial fleet was steaming for Pearl, Japanese diplomats were in Washingington negotiating “peace” with Roosevelt’s diplomats.
I would worry more today about what Iran is up to if they do “unclench their fist.” Obama and Hillary are deluded if they think they can negotiate with these people.
@American Elephant as one who has served alongside of our ALLIES up North…. we must remember, they do serve with distinction and as a workers supporting the US defense industry take note that Canada does provide must needed income and support to our defense industry.
Argue against ObamaCare on facts not on what could be considered mindless babbling.
@ backwoods conservative It is not that Obama is inexperienced.. it is that his vision (and perceived mandate from the people) is just dead wrong. It will create far more problems in the near future for our nation and there is no financial model that can accurately predict the devastation that WILL OCCUR long term.
As one who supported Obama, I can say this the left are unhappy, the right are unhappy, the center are unhappy but our future is in peril so we must NOT decide based upon political polling but what is right for our country.
On a clear and beautiful morning on Sunday, 7 December 1941, my maternal grandfather set out just before sunrise to check the work his men had completed before the weekend on the frames and blocks that would cradle an incoming battleship. When the attack began he ran to the drydock where USS Pennsylvania, USS Cassin and USS Downes. He manned a machinegun (M1919) on one of the destroyers until forced from it by the sinking of the destroyers, then helped flood the drydock to reduce the fires started by the bunker fuel in the destroyers. All day long he recovered survivors and the dead, an often grisly task. The next day he and his crew of shipyard workers were busy with salvage efforts particularly with the capsized USS Oklahoma that had survivors trapped in her hull, They cut through the thick belt armor to try and recover them. He never told us his story, visitors who were serving officers told us the story when they would stop by to visit. The ‘miracle’ of Pearl Harbor’s ‘Ghost Fleet’ of Salvaged ships and the amazing turnaround of the USS Lexington, seriously wounded in the battle of the Coral Sea where what Navy Engineers estimated that two years of yard work were completed in 90 days and allowed her to fight in the battle of Midway was in no small part attributable to his leadership and skills.
Some 40 years later I was stationed in Hawaii and would be asked to conduct re-enlistment ceremonies on board USS Arizona. In the early morning these ceremonies are conducted before the public is allowed aboard. There’s something very sobering and yet special as you administer the oath under the memorial to the 1,177 men who lost their lives there. It is as though there is a connection to them and a reminder of what the price of service to our country can mean.
Clearly understanding our history is mandatory to preparing for the future. Pearl Harbor was an attack by an enemy demanding a response that ended in VICTORY. It would be most reassuring to know that Obama understood that concept; however, clearly he does not.
I watched a video depicting a journalist asking Obama about “Victory in the Afghan war” and how it would be defined. Obama’s answer was shocking…. he stated that he ‘didn’t like the term “Victory” because it brought to mind visions of Hirohito ‘surrending to General MacArthur on the Missouri’.
Obama’s ignorance of the monumental event on the Missouri should be most troubling to all Americans and citizens of the many other countries that Japan mercilessly attacked and invaded.
Hirohito did not surrender to MacArthur on the Missouri. He was represented by other officials from Japan. MacArthur insisted that Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) retain the throne. MacArthur saw the emperor as a symbol of the continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people.
General MacArthur was instrumental in restoring Japan, and wrote Japan’s first Constitution…ever. Obama might like to know (after having given his last speech in the “enemy camp” at West Point) that MacArthur included in the Constitution the first women’s rights for Japanese women and their right to vote for the first time in history.
One wonders what is taught in universities these days and what Obama thinks is actual history.
On December 8th, 2009 at 4:17 am, ssnark said:
A truly moving story ssnark. However, the Lady Lex (USS Lexington) was sunk at the battle of the Coral Sea. You have mistaken her for the USS Yorktown (damaged at Coral Sea and sunk at Midway)
On December 8th, 2009 at 5:43 pm, Kingfish said:
I did indeed. I should know better. Big E, Hornet recovered the surviving Yorktown air group. Most current histories leave off the fact that ADM Ray Spruance ordered the deck lights turned on aboard Enterprise CV-6 risking attack by submarines (one of which sunk the heavily damaged Yorktown) to recover as many pilots as possible. They credit Spruance with having the courage to save them from ditching at sea.
On December 8th, 2009 at 11:18 am, laugrat said:
The man’s ignorance is monumental.
Wanna’ know who else is ignorant of their history of December 7th 1941? The Japanese. Ask any Japanese person aged 64 or younger what happened on December 7th that changed the course of Japanese history, and you will draw a blank stare. However, ask them what happened in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, and to a person they will tell you that the USA dropped a nuclear bomb on the city (though, why is rarely known, but they will give any myriad of reasons).
It isn’t only President Obamah that’s ignorant….and what’s worse, its basically an entire nation…