Today is the anniversary of one of the most infamous days in modern history, the Japanese surprise attack on Peral Harbor in 1941.
The Japanese launched a devastating attack that shook the world, killed 2403 Americans, and left a permanent memorial on site, one that draws crowds each day, every year. In fact, if you visit Oahu, in Hawaii, you must get an advance ticket to visit the site. But it is worth the trouble and should be part of any trip to Hawaii.
Just before 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes.
The U.S. and Japan had been edging toward war for some time, Japan had declared war on China, we had imposed sanctions, and tensions were high.
Security at Pearl Harbor was incredibly relaxed because Hawaii was 2000 miles from Japan, too far, according to strategists, to be a viable target.
Japan believed they could destroy the Pacific Fleet and leave the U.S. defenseless.
Japanese planes rained bullets and bombs across the harbor, including an 1800 pound bomb that smashed through the deck of the USS Arizona, the ship exploded, more than 1000 men were trapped inside and went down with her. (If you visit the memorial you see the oil that continues floating to the surface today, it is eerie.)
Torpedoes sunk the USS Oklahoma with 400 sailors aboard.
When the battle ended two hours later, every battleship in Pearl Harbor was heavily damaged.
All but the USS Arizona and Utah were salvaged and repaired.
More than 300 airplanes were also damaged.
But the attack did not go after storage facilities, repair shops, shipyard and submarine docks, a huge tactical mistake that allowed the Navy to rebound quickly.
President Roosevelt responded with his now infamous February 8 words to Congress, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
Pearl Harbor has been the subject of many movies and documentaries. It was brought to prominence again after 9-11 and again when noted by Israel in their response to the Hamas barbarity.
American history is no longer celebrated, often not even acknowledged, in media or academia today, and my guess is it will be lightly mentioned, if at all – not noted at all in today’s Los Angeles Times -,in much of our print media, but it was one of the most important days at a time most people believed freedom was worth fighting for.
“Remember Pearl Harbor!” was the slogan that followed, worth remembering today.
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Thanks.
Larry Oxenham
larryoxx@gmail.com
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