Never Forget

No, I'm not talking about September 11th. I'm talking about Pearl Harbor. In a surprise attack by the Japanese, on December 7, 1941, we lost 2,402 U.S. service men and women. This led directly to the United States entry into World War II. From a military strategy perspective, this was brilliant on the part of Japan - their goal was to disable the Pacific Fleet to keep them from interfering in the actions they were going to be taking in Southeast Asia. It is speculated that a third wave of planes was called off and that the third wave would have been completely crippling to the United States.
I was able to visit Pearl Harbor when I was a lot younger... even as a child it was something that left a very lasting impression on me. To this day, when I hear the air raid signal (like in movies for tornado warnings) I get goosebumps.

Battleship Row Being Bombed At Pearl Harbor

CNN published a really cool story this morning of Pearl Harbor told by a survivor. The link is here: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/07/pearl-harbor-survivor-90-still-on-mission-to-tell-story/?hpt=hp_c1

Both of my grandfathers fought in World War II, although on opposite sides. My dad's father served for the United States in Iwo Jima, while my mom's father served for Germany on the Russian front. Over the years, both of them told their stories of war and it's just really heartbreaking.

This tragic loss of life makes me wish that there was no such thing as war and that we could use our words to fix problems. I know, too idealistic, but it's a wish.