On this day I reflect that I was seven years of age when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I remember people discussing this horrible event. Of course over the years I learned a great deal more about it. My point regarding this personal observation is this. Most people younger than I have no personal memory of Pearl Harbor, and a very high percentage of people today are younger than I. So if the memory is to be kept alive, it must be inculcated into the minds of the coming generations.
Collectively, we forget at the peril of freedom and the life of the nation.
USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, HI. Directly behind is USS Missouri and to the left, USS Peleliu. I have had the sobering experience of visiting the Memorial, and at an earlier date I was privileged to board the Missouri when she was in Bremerton before she was recommissioned.
9 comments:
Although I was not around when this happened, I have done some extensive reading on it and it will always be marked in my mind as a day to soberly remember and honor all those who died that day, as well as how it changed our destiny as a nation.
This event I do not remember in particular, but I do remember the air raids and the fear during the war. Younger generations do need to be reminded - and they need to care. Thanks!
I was a toddler at the time. I do have memories of some later parts of WWII.
I am a late baby boomer and only have actual memories of The Viet Na war.
I was shocked yesterday when I was researching about Pearl Harbor at how very little actual history I knew about the day.
As you already know I really got into my studies yesterday. History has been and still is one of my things to study.
How in the world did I get through school and only know the tip of the iceberg about this day?
Thank you for dropping over and thank you for your post too. It is so very important that we all learn our history and remember it!
Shelly, good for you, a serious-minded younger person. Never forget.
Vee, you are welcome. We all must remember; it is a perilous world in which we live.
Chuck, though your personal memory may not include this event, you have certainly lived through perilous and memorable times.
Jackie, thank you for your post today. It is an excellent synopsis and a great reminder. In answer to your question, "How did I get through school and only know the tip of the iceberg?" it is likely that no more than that was ever mentioned in school in your day, and today. Of course, there is so much history, so little time.
My mom's birthday is the same day as Pearl Harbor Day, although not the same year. That's how we remember it each year--that it coincides with her birthday. I wonder if kids nowadays even remember that day?
Lin, I did hear Pearl Harbor Day mentioned on the news, and it was on the front page of our local paper. I will be sad when that no longer happens.
I was born 7 years later. We will forget before a couple more generations have past. Very few people have any national memory of Revolutionary sacrifices, and the Civil War is becoming dim, despite movies like Lincoln and Gods and Generals.
Shark, I suppose you are right. When an event no longer exists in living memory, it tends to fade from the national consciousness, leaving it to the historians. Sad.
Post a Comment