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Dec 7 1941, "A day which will live in infamy" Lest we forget


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Lest we forget 7 Dec 1941

"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.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific."-FDR

 

 

The US Navy and Marine Corps stood 2,896 casualties including 2,117 deaths (Navy 2,008, Marines 109) and 779 wounded in action (Navy 710, Marines 69). The Army (as of midnight, 10 December) had lost 228 killed or died of wounds and 459 wounded. Additionally, at least 57 civilians were killed and nearly as many seriously injured.

 

 

The British. Dutch and Chinese were also hit as were our bases in the Phillipines.

Edited by pqr
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I showed my son pictures, read a little bit about it to him, showed him the trailer for the movie (just so he could get a visual of it) and then told him the date.

 

It took him a moment to realize that it happened on today's date. "That happened back then, today!" he said. That made a big impact on him for some reason.

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Back in the '70s, I lived 2 blocks from Pearl Harbor on Hickam Air Force Base. There were still bullet holes and shell damage to many of the older buildings there.

 

My father was about 5 when it happened and he can remember his father being mad as heck when the announcement was first made.

 

Thanks for the reminder.

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That sounds odd but our FIL was a Pearl Harbor survivor. He worked at Hickman Field as a plane mechanic when the attack occured. Many of his friends were killed and it has never been a thing that was easy for him to talk about but he did tell us a few stories. Until his death he was a member of our state's Pearl Harbor Survivors Organization. If you really want to know more about this you might check to see if your state has a local one and go to one of their meetings. That is one of the only places these guys feel comfortable to share all of their stories because they know everyone there had been through the same thing and could truly understand what they were saying. The first one I went to was very sad in a way but also a proud experience. I heard some of these stories first hand and you can't begin to know how brave these young people were until you hear their stories in person.

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