A re-run from last year, which includes a re-run from 2006 as well.
Pearl Harbor Day
Sixty-eight years ago today... "a date which will live in infamy"... the nation was shocked out of its complacency and determination to stay out of the conflict engulfing the rest of the civilized world by the horrific Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Here's an excerpt from President Roosevelt's speech to congress on the following day:
The men who fought back at Pearl Harbor formed the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association about ten years after the war and they used to hold a reunion in Hawaii every five years... until 2006, when they held their last reunion there. I published this post to mark that occasion (note that the link to the news article is dead now):
Pearl Harbor Day
It’s said — quite often and by many, many people — that 9/11/2001 “changed everything.” And it is indeed true for the current generations of Americans. But I’ll submit that 12/07/1941 “changed everything” to a degree it is impossible for us who were not alive and going about our business on that Sunday in December, 1941 to realize. Those of us whose parents were members of The Greatest Generation understand my point. A smaller subset, those of us whose parents fought in World War II, understand the point a little bit better, perhaps. We have the benefit of hearing the first-person narratives of that day in December 1941, and stories from the long, long days that followed…from the dark and despair of the war’s first year to the signing of the Japanese surrender on the decks of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay not quite four years later. And a lot in between.
The USS Arizona - Then and Now (U.S. Navy photographs)
They are leaving us. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is holding their last meeting today.PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy.This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell."This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.Their last meeting. I know All Things Must Pass, but it saddens me so. We owe them so much, and our thank-yous seem inadequate compared to the sacrifices they made.
But: We shall continue, we shall honor their sacrifices, we will remember, and we shall rededicate ourselves to the task that faces this generation…the one that began on 9/11/2001. The Greatest Generation expects it from us.The 2006 news article may not be available any longer, but the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is still alive and kicking. They are few now, but thank God some of those heroes are still around. It won't be too much longer until they're all gone and as I said above: "It saddens me so."
This was my uncle's last day on the Essex:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CV09_Essex_USG-80-G-273032-.jpg
He spent the next year in a hospital in Minneapolis. He always complained that my Dad had an easy job in France, because they got R&R every two weeks. My dad used to just grin, and say "better than a floating fuel tank I guess."
Oh, I forgot to say, that the "Pearl Harbor Syndrome" where the military puts everything in the same place in formation order, is alive and well.
ReplyDeleteThey like to put all the computer servers in one area now, so that only one bomb has to be used to wipe them all out.
Sadly, it doesn't even take a bomb, as the air conditioning is too small to handle the (lowest bidder) room.
They call it "Cloud Computing," as opposed to the now deprecated "Distributed Computing."
I know I'm too old now, because I started out with Mainframes, went on to distributed Unix, and then now back to the new term for Mainframes - The Cloud.
Americans have an attention span of about 50 years...
My local news reported that about 150 Pearl Harbor Survivors would be meeting today in Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteI had an Uncle that was stationed at Pearl Harbor and had PCS'ed back to the states. He and my Aunt left the island 30 minutes before the attack. A friend of theirs whom they were stationed with was there during the attack and received a Purple Heart from the attack if I remember correctly. He described that day as chaotic with people running everywhere and seeking shelter. We certainly owe a great deal to that generation of men and women. Not only the ones that served but the ones left behind to keep this country running. Yep we were "sucker punched" just like we were on 9/11 but then we rolled up our sleeves and commenced to kick some butt!! One of the things on my "Bucket List" is to visit Pearl Harbor and pay my respects to the many who lost their lives on that fateful day.
ReplyDeleteAnon: I'm with your Dad about that "floating fuel tank" thing. I'm glad your uncle made it through, tho. And I agree with you on the concentration of compute assets in one place. But most entities have back-up sites and mirroring capabilities... at least they did eight years ago when I was still in the game.
ReplyDeleteLou: I saw a couple of items to that effect, as well. It seems like the PHSA didn't want to throw in the towel just yet. Good On 'Em.
Dale: Excellent thoughts. Did you know there are still bullet holes in some of the buildings at Hickam? They were never repaired and serve as small "memorials," if you will.