Franklin Roosevelt described the Japanese Empire attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, as the “date which will live in infamy.” Infamy is defined as “a wicked or evil act.” At 7:55 in the morning, 66 Japanese torpedo planes, dive bombers, and horizontal bombers descended on Pearl Harbor. The initial attack was on the airfields, neutralizing most of the warplanes on the ground. At 8:01 the first of 5 torpedoes hit the USS Oklahoma the next three hits caused her to capsize. The damage continued with USS Raleigh, USS Utah, and USS Helena hit at 8:02, at 8:03 the USS Cummings, California, Swan and submarine Cachalot began to return fire on the invaders. An armor piercing bomb hit the USS Arizona at 8:06, striking the forward magazine detonating 1 million pounds of gunpowder, instantly killing more than 1000 men. The explosion overwhelmed the ship and at 8:15 it sunk. The boat was 96 feet wide and 608 feet long and weighed 29,000 tons. At 9:06 a second wave of 54 bombers and 78 dive bombers began the second waive of the attacked. Awful devastation in the first 85 minutes.
On our trip just before Thanksgiving we visited the USS Arizona memorial at Salt River on the Pima, Maracopa Indian reservation near Phoenix. The memorial is built on a lagoon which represents the ocean, the outline of the ship is marked by columnar poles that are placed in the water and on shore to replicate the outline of the ship. There are 355 lit columns with the unlit columns representing those who survived the attack to tell their stories. “The varying height of the columns symbolize the distinct nature of Individuals, different in an many ways as they are similar. It is these differences that strengthen the whole as each unique skill and perspective when set to a common purpose can accomplish endeavors beyond numbers. The lighted ship is an inspiring memorial to the 1512 individuals who served on the USS Arizona battleship. It further holds to memory the 1177 who died that morning. The Memorial Garden is a poignant reminder of that day when 2403 sailors, soldiers and civilians lost their lives.
Roosevelt stated in a l940 fireside chat before the Japanese attack that America must be prepared to support Great Britain as they entered the war against Hitler. He coined the phrase, “we must be the great arsenal of democracy.” America prepared to support our allies and protect our own shores. Less than a year later we entered the war on two fronts declaring war on Japan on December 8 and joining the Allies in Europe on December 11.
As Thanksgiving approached I could not help but give thanks for those who serve our country. This memorial is a reminder of the battles fought to preserve our freedom. It is also a stark reminder that perhaps the greatest threat to our way of life today does not come from a lunatic like Hitler, but from within. Those who stoke hatred, white supremacy, bigotry, voter suppression with lies, conspiracy theories, misinformation are the greatest risk. We do not have time for them when our planet is at risk and justice for all is still a dream.
I hope you had as memorable a Thanksgiving as the Mooney, Haga, Wonderlich families. Seems obvious that a diverse team with a common goal is the best able to assure the future of our country and our planet. Take good care. Mike