Pearl Harbor Remembered

[MountainMan]

As we get older, these important dates seem to fade into obscurity. We should not forget.

[P5se Camelback]

Amen, Mountain Man!

Our children should be told around this day at the dinner table tonight!

They won't be hearing about it in school ...


... they'll only hear about how we were insensitive and unfairly interred those of Japanese descent.

[Gary S]

:oops: I have to admit I hadn't considered the date. And I also haven't seen any mention of it anywhere.

May the souls lost in the U.S.S. Arizona not be forgotten. And may there always be a place in the heart of our country for those who fought and died that day.

[MasonJar]

This year was the first year there were no Veterans of the Great War on hand (at least in Canada). Soon there shall be no more people who were born in the 1800s. Time indeed marches on.

Lest we forget.


Andrew

[FCIN]

My Dad was 17 on December 7, 1941 and as soon as he turned 18 he joined the Army. Wound up in the Pacific theater. I'm a Vietnam Vet myself and I never forget December 7th and June 6th and why those dates are so important. Each year there is less mention of them and I'm sad to say that most young people these days don't have a clue about WWII and all the sacrifices that were made - both on the front lines and at home.

[ezdays]

What use to take up pages and pages in the history books of the past, now only merit a few paragraphs. Soon events like this will be described in a sentence or two as an "incident" that triggered the war in the Pacific. I was quite young that day, but remember it and the president's speech quite vividly. May there always be a tribute to the memory of those who saw action that day and the years that followed.

[P5se Camelback]

... Each year there is less mention of them and I'm sad to say that most young people these days don't have a clue about WWII and all the sacrifices that were made - both on the front lines and at home.

What use to take up pages and pages in the history books of the past, now only merit a few paragraphs. Soon events like this will be described in a sentence or two as an "incident" that triggered the war in the Pacific. ...

Both of the above comments are unfortunately true ... and both comments sadden me tremendously!

Today's young people don't have a clue why we are the extraordinary nation that we are, and many don't think that this country is anything special! They haven't been taught what we were taught. They haven't lived through anything but peacetime ... they don't understand that Freedom is not Free! They think that that losing 4,000 soldiers is atrocious, that we should bring the troops home and just try to be friends with everybody. But they don't realize that, although tragic to the families of those who have fallen, losing 4,000 soldiers over four or five years is a drop in the bucket compared to the 30,000+ lost on D Day ... but they were never taught about D-Day or any of that. They don't know what a Fascist is, or a Nazi, or even a Communist! They know nothing of "the Cold War" ... they have never seen or been taught what those cultures were like.

And to me, that is not by accident, but is just one more step in the dumbing down process of "Progressives" to make "the People" complacent enough to acquiesce to their carefully fabricated status quo, in their quest towards a "One World" Government with "the Privileged Class" in power and they rest of "the Workers" relegated to Proletariat status.

Let us never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us could enjoy Freedom. May those of us who remember that Freedom is not Free and how terrible the alternative to Freedom is, do everything in our power to keep us a Free People!

[Ralph]

I offer a respectful remberence of those who died in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. I am grateful that my father was stationed there AFTER the attack. Its interesting to note comments about today's youth not knowing about Pearl Harbor or WWll. Since I do not have children and do not have access to the textbooks in my local high school's history curriculum I cannot confirm that this date is not taught in school....but somehow I imagine WWll and its importance is part of the lesson plan for American History. Ironically, as a high school student it seemed that we learned American history only up to the the end of the Second World War even though the Korea War had occurred, the politics of the Cold War and fear of a great global conspiracy influenced our national policy, McCarthyism had stained the nation by making it fashionable to question the patriotism of fellow citizens, a war we didn't talk about in class was coming to an end in Viet Nam, Watergate had shaken the nations confidence in its Presidency.... I suspect today's kids would understand the experience of Pearl Harbor just fine since many of them saw extensive coverage of 9/11 in real time. That said, however, they may envy the "Greatest Generation" for the national unity of the times and the clarity of the mission of the Second World War compared to the divided American viewpoints and complexities of responding to a less easily identified enemy today.

Ralph

[nachoman]

Ralph said something that made me laugh. In my middle and high school history classes, the lack of coverage of WWII and later was entirely due to long-winded teachers. I think they had a goal of getting to the end of WWII by the end of spring semester, but realized when they were only to the American Civil war on April 1st, they had to speed things up a bit . In world history, the endless procession of kings and monarchs slowed us down. In US history, we spent half the year just getting through colonial times and the revolution.

[Herc Driver]

Young men lined up to enlist. Older men marched next to them, many of them having already seen the horrors of the "Great War."

A decimated Navy rebuilt.

An Army that still used horses put on a new armor.

And a Nation's poorly equipped military surged into the largest military machine ever seen.

People everywhere did their part and more.

But on the morning of December 7th, no one would have thought all that was possible.

December 7th changed America and changed the world.

[Paulman]

God bless those who gave their all that day. My grandfather was there as an Army doc. He was in surgery for over 48 hours, and went home only long enough to take my grandmother a sidearm.

And thank God the carriers were at sea...

[Steamtrains]

It's not a "liberal conspiracy" to dumb-down education. It's an attitude to "protect" the children from the "dark side" of life. That's why scores aren't kept in L. League games... Nobody looses, so everyone is happy....That makes for a well-rounded child...until they grow up and are faced with the real world.

December 7th WILL always live in infamy...

[P5se Camelback]

... I suspect today's kids would understand the experience of Pearl Harbor just fine since many of them saw extensive coverage of 9/11 in real time. ... Ralph

Unfortunately, many of today's kids have bought into their teachers' contentions that 9-11 was an inside job, carried out by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their cronies in government so we would have a reason to go to war, rather than to offer the hand of peace and friendship to Al Quaida and the Taliban!

You may think I'm making this up, but I was recently accosted by high schoolers as a "War Monger," when I was walking in from the parking lot to go into the Publix Super Market while wearing a golf shirt with a large American Legion Florida Post 323 logo emblazoned on the back! What followed was a lengthy discussion wherein they explained to me what they had been taught ... and believe me, their minds had been made up for them ... they weren't about to be confused by facts! We are the big reason for unrest in the world ... the mid-east would cease being a dangerous, violent place if we would just lay down our arms, de-nuke and offer the open hand of friendship to those who are falsely potrayed as enemies!

The whole experience ruined my day! I now worry about the future of this once-great county if left to these under-educated lemmings who know nothing of history or how we got to be the great country that we are today!!

[Ralph]

I don't know how many " many kids" are bil, but I think you're talking to the wrong ones that represent a small minority.

[e-paw]

All of the reasons listed above have a great deal to do with why I model the mid 40's, Americas greatest generation. At that time sites like this were common.     They are not forgotten here, but honored.