80 Years Ago Today — The Pearl Harbor Attack – Never Forget

December 7, 2021. This date is 80 years ago… “December 7, 1941. A date that will live in infamy Today, 80years later, it’s important to remember Pearl Harbor and to honor the soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilians who were killed in the surprise attack. The tragic events at Pearl Harbor remind us that we should not be complacent. The world is still a dangerous place. The nation must be alert to all dangers and prepared to respond to any threats, known or unknown. Wendell Phillips famously said, “Eternal vigilance” is the price for liberty. The Shooting Wire stated: “Today as we live in another phase of uncertainty… We owe our success as a country to the more 16 million Americans who left home and traveled all over the globe to protect freedom.” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that only 240,000 of the 16,000,000 Americans who served in World War II will be alive in 2021. It’s appropriate to remember them today and the sacrifices that they made for us. Both my uncle and father, the editor, fought in WWII. He was in the Army and his uncle was in the U.S. Navy. My father was a Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and took part in three landings — North Africa (Sicily), South France (Silicon). I still have his invasion armorband, a precious memento. My uncle died in 2019 at the age of 100. He served in the Pacific at the Tulagi Navy Base where he met Lt. (JG), John F. Kennedy. Of Kennedy, my uncle told me: “Jack? He was a good boy… and he loved his country. Thoughts on Pearl Harbor by Dennis Santiago
When I think about December 7, I remember that it was the day my elders began their most difficult four years of life. I have seen the fear, anger, and resolve they displayed when they had to endure the Empire of the Rising Sun. My mother had never heard about Pearl Harbor. Her mother believed that World War II began the day after the Japanese bombed a U.S. naval station called Cubi Point at the entrance of Manila Bay in the Philippine Islands. My maternal grandfather never spoke about the horrors he saw on the Bataan Death March, or his years in prison camps. My father is the one I see. I remember my father being on the side of a Japanese patrolboat in Subic Bay, with an Arisaka pointed at his face. He was forced to give up the catch to feed his family ….. Time has passed, but the memory has not lost its poignancy. Every December 7, I am grateful that my elders survived. Without them, I wouldn’t be here to reflect on it. I am driven by the echoes of their experience to ensure that such an event does not happen again. Whether it is called the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, or another name given by my contemporaries, the evil lurking beneath those who believe their ideas justifiably inflict the horrors they impose must be confronted and defeated. Similar Posts: Tags : Date Infamy, December 7, Hawaii Pacific Theater, Pearl Harbor Veterans, WWII