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Ponds & Aquatic Plants

Pearl Harbor Day

17 years ago

Somehow I posted this in the Gallery - hope it has some interest in the right place.

Today is the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, barely remembered now. This is probably the last survivors' reunion given their ages. With all the Support Our Troops threads, I thought some comments on the event might be in order. Nearly 3000 died, an ironic number about the same as WTC and troops in Irag: Days of Infamy indeed.

Any thoughts, stories of families involved, at least a moment of silence for the millions who have given their lives so we may have ours?

Just a personal thought.

Mike

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Comments (6)

fairy_toadmother
17 years ago
very good idea! i am sure there will be some contributions.
youreit
17 years ago
I wish I had more time to post stuff, but for now, I'll just say, Thanks for posting this, Mike!!

Our thoughts are with them all.

Brenda
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Thanks Zeffy. I always have my father & his brothers & brothers-in-law, the whole generation really, on my mind at this time of year & again on Veteran's Day, Pearl Harbor Day... Daddy was in the US Army, serving at Anzio & North Africa. He never talked seriously about it, always made jokes about laying telephone line & his buddies playing jokes on each other. I never even knew he was at Anzio until I got a copy of his records, too late, long after he was gone.
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I didn't come along until my father came home from the wars, but being the child of parents who were young adults when it happened, has left an indelible mark on me. I don't think a 'Pearl Harbor' day went by but what my parents didn't mention it as soon as they looked at a calendar, and then pause for a few minutes, lost in thought. One day I got brave/curious enough to ask my mother if she remembers what they were doing that day. She told me she was at home for lunch from the little pottery across the road from their house when the lady next door ran over and told her to turn on their radio. Then she walked up the road to the tannery where my father worked and told him. Life changed for them at that point. My father's brother was the first to enlist and he was killed shortly after the troops landed in Normandy. As soon as that happened, my father enlisted. My sister was born the day after my mother received the telegram he was missing in action. I suppose the significance of that day shall no longer be on the public's lips when it rolls around anymore when people of my generation leave this earth. It'll be just another piece of ancient history.
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Yes, thank you. We were visiting Pearl Harbor just days before and DH & I were profoundly affected standing on those hallowed grounds. That site holds a lot of energy. I do not know anyone lost on 9/11, being a west coast resident my entire life, but I do recall that exact feeling of the world going mad. This just does not happen on American soil! But then I did think of the people who live in war torn nations and thought of how very proud I am to be an American. How really special it is to live here and to have been a safe country for as long as modern history recalls. And I realized on that day that Americans really CAN rally together if we're tested. 9/11 was THE most important day of my life. I'll never forget.
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There doesn't seem to be any let up in the number of people visiting the Arizona in Pearl Harbor or Punchbowl, but it's 'distant past' for many young people today. Two of my uncles served in WWII -- one in the Pacific. I only remember the war efforts -- saving grease, needing ration stamps to buy restricted items like gasoline, tires, shoes, and my mother laboring in her Victory Garden.
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semper_fi
17 years ago
Thanks for posting this Army guy! :-)

I heard a news story on the radio yesterday that a few hundred survivors of Pearl Harbor gather at the site every 5 years and they would do so again this year. It is uncertain if there will be a 70th anniversary as these folks are all getting up in age.

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 may have had many parallels as far as the loss of life and their consequences for our country but I think the presence of all the communication channels that are available to us today really allowed 9/11 to have a bigger impact on America's psyche. Most of us saw those live graphic images in NY and DC unfold in front of our eyes whereas most Americans in 1941 were limited to distant news bulletins on the radio. Still, I think Pearl Harbor played a MUCH bigger role in our history and reshaping our country in the long run than 9/11 has thus far.

Semper Fi,
-Mark
youreit
17 years ago
Pearl Harbor affected many (if not most) people greatly, including my husband's uncle Robert, who felt compelled to join the Army Air Corps after the attack. Hence his involvement later on in the war, namely in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre.

He flew with a P40 fighter group (80th; 88th & 89th squadron) called the Burma Banshees (since their planes produced a wailing sound that put the fear of the Corps into the Japanese :D), which utilized skull heads as nose art (unlike the famous Flying Tigers' grinning shark mouths). His plane was christened Dikam Death, in honor of the terrible feeling he'd have the day after partaking in a local alcoholic brew. :D

He had 2 confirmed kills during his time in the Corps, and his stories are always fascinating. Just hearing the excitement in his voice and seeing the memories in his eyes is beyond words. On June 2nd, Uncle Robert will be 87 years young. We thank him every time we visit him, and let him know just how much we appreciate what he did for our country.

Brenda

{{gwi:174833}}
semper_fi
17 years ago
OUTSTANDING story Brenda!

Anyone else???
mgeca
Original Author
17 years ago
My uncle was, by all accounts, a life-loving, vibrant guy until he was blown off the Arizona when it was first hit. He survived, led a full and wonderful life, but I was told he never again was that full of life person.

He felt that survivor's guilt, the "why did so many die and I was spared syndrome" that no one figured out back then. I knew him well and he always had a wonderful pond in his yard. I often sat with him at the side of the pond, and as I grew older realized he was somehow drawn into the water, staring deep, seeming to be looking at or for something.

I enjoyed those times as an adult as well. While he never really talked about his "disappearing into the water" episodes, he gave me enough clues to tell his story to a comrade of sorts.

And that is why I now have a pond and spend time reflecting on life in its water. An odd twist from that long-ago event.

Mike

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