DECEMBER 7TH IN RETROSPECT

Today is the aniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor which brought our country into war. Like many Americans who have visited the Arizona memorial, I was very effected by visiting this special place where so many died that day in 1941.

I thought back to that day when our family like so many other families heard the announcement on the radio. My sister & I like many siblings, especially those close in age, had been squabling, & had run upstairs for some parental settling of our dispute , but were quickly told to hush as we all listened in shocked silence to the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

As my sister & I stood this fall in the Memorial building which is above the underwater remains of the Arizona, I thought about the young sailors who had lost their lives, some perhaps just a few years older than I was at 14,in 1941, when they were killed. There were other ships as well which were sunk that day, with other young men aboard, who also perished aboard their sunken ships.

Not long ago, I watched a program where they talked about the Japanese fighter pilots who had taken part in the bombing. From what was said, these men had thought that they were taking part in the first battle of the war. They had expected that Japan had declared war on America & were upset that no delaration of war had ever been issued & that they had participated in an event which in their eyes, was not an honorable thing to have done. Some of them were angry & ashamed of their participation. Honor has always been a part of the Japenese culture. I do not know why there was not a formal declaration of war on the part of the Japanese government. I know that their ambassadors were carrying out misleading peace talks while the plans for the attack were being formulated by the military leaders.

For many of those who took part in todays ceremony at the Memorial, it was probably for the last time. The number of survivors has grown smaller each year, as these brave men & woman have died off. Some of their children may gather in the future to carry out their rememberance of the tragic event & to pay tribute to these heros who lie beneath the water in the Harbor.

I am so glad that I was able to finally visit this halowed place & take a few minutes to think about those heros of that day so long ago.