Remember Pearl Harbor on the 78th anniversary
[NOTE: This is a somewhat-edited version of a previous post.]
Today is the seventy-eighth anniversary of the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. The generation that reacted to it by mobilizing and fighting World War II is on its last legs. But they were the ones we still call “the Greatest.”
I was reminded of this a few years ago while watching one of those Oliver North “War Stories” TV shows about Pearl Harbor. It featured some of the elderly participants reminiscing about that long ago day. Before each one spoke, there was a photograph of him back in 1941: young, vibrant, handsome, full of life. Now they were ancient, and most only vaguely resembled their former selves. But they still transmitted great moral strength and a kind of Gary-Cooperesque stoicism and understated bravery as they told their stories.
On the 75th anniversary there were still quite a few WWII veterans alive:
The Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t have data on veterans of individual battles, and an alumni association for the battle disbanded in 2011, at the 70th anniversary, when it believed just 8,000 of the 84,000 uniformed Americans on Oahu during the attack remained alive. Since 2011, roughly half of veterans of World War II who were alive then have died, according to VA projections, leaving fewer than 700,000 alive today. Roughly 400 American WWII veterans die each day.
Obviously the number of Pearl Harbor veterans alive has only gotten smaller sine that was written—as it will every year until the number is zero. And then, we will still remember? In fact, do most of us remember Pearl Harbor now? Time marches on, and even 9/11 has faded into the background for most people.
A couple of facts: it’s become fashionable to believe that FDR knew about the attack in advance and let it happen anyway. But those 12/7-truthers are almost undoubtedly wrong. Roosevelt wanted to get us into the war, and he knew a Japanese attack was coming at some point, and informed his generals to that effect, but he knew none of the particulars in advance.
Here’s a post I published ten years ago on Pearl Harbor Day. It focuses on FDR’s famous speech afterward, and the will and resolve he amply demonstrated. Will and resolve in war remain extremely relevant these days.
Here is just a little bit of Roosevelt’s post-Pearl Harbor speech, in case we need reminding of what American resolve used to sound like:
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
“Righteous might.”
Here’s the speech itself:
The memorable phrase that began FDR’s address, “a date which will live in infamy,” wasn’t in Roosevelt’s earlier draft. That draft reads “a date which will live in world history.” That sounds like a high school essay; Roosevelt crossed out “world history” and added “infamy” in his own hand. He also changed “simultaneously and deliberately attacked” to “suddenly and deliberately attacked.”
Wise choices.
According to Max Hastings, Inferno: The World at War 1939–1945, the Japanese considered Americans to be an inferior, degenerate race of people who after one hard punch in the nose would quickly grant Japan dominance in the Pacific. Boy were they wrong.
Can’t help but wonder how things would differ now.
In the 1960s I was on a destroyer home ported at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is dredged to 50 feet of depth so deep draft vessels, like aircraft carriers, can enter the harbor. The brilliant Japanese plan was to sink the US pacific fleet in 50 feet of water and the US would be so disheartened they would sue for peace. That plan didn’t work out so well.
My destroyer was moored at the destroyer piers when they were filming TORA (cubed) and we had front row seats at the filming.
The examples you give of FDR tweaking the words of his speech remind me of the famous line of Mark Twain’s “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning. “
Shit happens, the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor, the Krauts joined them and War was declared, we committed to Europe first and at the same time we had hero’s who bombed Tokyo and then the Battle of Midway, a lot of good men gave their lives to save more lives. Different times.
Shit happens, the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor, the Krauts joined them and War was declared, we committed to Europe first and at the same time we had hero’s who bombed Tokyo and then the Battle of Midway, a lot of good men gave their lives to save more lives. Different times.
If you have an interest in the Pacific War, I highly recommend Ian Toll’s trilogy – book three is to be released next summer. These are history brought to life. I couldn’t put them down, and I’ve never until now eagerly awaited the publication of an upcoming book.
I wish there were more “Remember the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941” ceremonies, especially around the time of anti-nuke Hiroshima ceremonies.
The Bombs saved lives compared to what would have likely happened in any invasion of the main Japanese islands.
the Japanese considered Americans to be an inferior, degenerate race of people who after one hard punch in the nose would quickly grant Japan dominance in the Pacific.
Let’s rephrase it to be more modern relevant:
the US Dem elites consider MAGA Americans to be an inferior, degenerate race of people who after one hard punch in the nose would quickly grant Dem elites dominance in the culture, media, academic, government, and business areas.
Nah.
The Dems want slow, sneaky, snaky, Dem-constricting dominance based on thousands of little pokes and shoves, no one of which should provoke any real voter outrage. The Dems are outraged at MAGA Americans waking up before the Dem dominance is permanent.
The Bombs saved lives compared to what would have likely happened in any invasion of the main Japanese islands.
My father trained as a paratrooper in WW II. He would have been part of the invasion of Japan were it not for the Bomb. Had he done so, there’s an excellent chance I would not be typing this.
As it was, he went to Japan with the occupation and brought back books on Japanese architecture and the Tea Ceremony.
When I was in 4th grade, he gave me a real Japanese abacus for my birthday including a book on how a Japanese guy with an abacus went head-to-head with an American using an adding machine. The abacus won.
What really got the Japanese to surrender was the Soviet invasion
What really got the Japanese to surrender was the Soviet invasion
Avi: That’s the latest wrinkle in foreign policy thought. We’ll see. Are you claiming the Japanese would have folded without Hiroshima and Nagasaki? How do you know?
I’m still fighting the last war that the Japanese were ready to surrender and the US didn’t have to drop the bombs at all.
I remain grateful my father didn’t have to fight. Paratroopers were valiant fellows, but their odds weren’t good in the landing.
Ray, were you on a FRAM GEARING?
Scott,
I was on an old Fletcher class destroyer, USS Taylor DD468. It was part of destroyer flotilla 5, which had lots of those old WWII destroyers.
Amazon offers the abacus my father gave me for $42. It was quality work. I’m tempted to buy one for sentimental value. The product description is a wonderfully bad Japanese-English translation on par with “All your base are belong to us”:
Common perception of all over the world
Abacus have long history. Perhaps it’s history equal to human’s. There are various method and tools to count, but common concept is “more easier to handle number”. Interestingly, the method for this purpose is almost same from east to west.
What’s Soroban ?
Soroban is a kind of these tools (Abacus). Especially, these in East Asia are called “Soroban”. The original Abacus was consisted with ditch on plane and the ball moving on it. The shape and number of balls have been changed for usefulness. For example – there are some scene required to calculate speedy. The number of balls and shape – this is the current standard.
Features of standard
1. Material – Birch ball. Move smoothly, stop firmly. Good material (wood) have this confliction. Birch is most popular. The balls of Abacus grow like your skill. Gradually, the feature of wood become clearly.
2. Digits – 23. This number is most popular. Almost all case, 23 digits is sufficient to handle number. And length fits to bag.
Soroban grow also
Soroban (Abacus) grow like your skill, but need definite time. So, in case you are going to handle for a long time. Good one become good your “own” Soroban. In that sense, this one is standard.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MTHZ88
I am eager to learn how “balls of Abacus grow like [my] skill.” I do plan “to handle for a long time” and “to calculate speedy.” Thank goodness, “length fits to bag.”
Quietly, discretely, no big deal kinda way, I asked the eight counter personnel at my local Dunkin — kids ranging in age from 17 to 24, all highschool educated with one or two now in Community college, all good folk, no troublemakers, girls but one — “Hey, today is Dec. 7th, right?” “Yes.” “Does it ring any bells?” “Nope.”
Again, no big deal. Nothing more was made of it. I didn’t let on: they uniformly did not know. And that was that, a cheerful parting.
I was eight on 12/7/1941. My family (five of us at the time) gathered around our Philco radio and listened to the news. My two brothers and I knew it was serious because our parents were very concerned. That night my older brother and I talked to each other as we lay in our bunk beds. We decided that something very momentous had happened and that our lives were going to change. And we were right. The next four years would see our parents split up, our village empty out of men between 18 and 40, our citizens collecting scrap metal/paper/cardboard/bacon grease/tinfoil, deal with rationing, and see air force pilots in training at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver come to our village to get away from their base for a few days before they shipped out. It was a major event that affected my life in ways that I never would have believed. I imagine most of us alive at that time would say the same thing – especially those who were at Pearl Harbor.
Avi:
Yes, all the Japanese cities had been burned to the ground by conventional or nuclear bombs, the inland sea was filled with mines and their merchant shipping sunk, Okinawa had fallen, US carrier planes were attacking land targets at will, but the Soviet entry caused them to surrender? Okay.
“Hey, today is Dec. 7th, right?” “Yes.” “Does it ring any bells?” “Nope.”
sdferr: So, you didn’t tell them it was the day before John Lennon was shot?
Why not?
Avi — the history of this is well known. The Army radicals were not persuaded by the Hiroshima bomb. After the Nagasaki bomb, the emperor — thinking that the US had more a-bombs than two — announced the surrender. In the August 15, 1945 Jewel Voice speech, in which he announced the surrender, the emperor specifically referred to the atomic bomb, which would “result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.” He did not mention the Soviet invasion, and in fact, by that date, the Soviets had reached into Manchuria, Mongolia, Korea, and the Sakhalin islands, but not into Japan itself. Since the loss of those territories would not destroy Japanese civilization, it is unlikely that the Soviet invasion played a major part in the Emperor’s decision to surrender.
As for me, without the bombs, I probably wouldn’t be here. My dad didn’t have enough points to be demobilized after V-E Day. He had to stay in Europe until May of 1946. If the Japanese had not surrendered, he undoubtedly would have been sent to Japan for the invasion. Thank God for Harry Truman!
Who is John Lennon? Just like, who is Wilt the Stilt?
It’s all ancient history. As such, useless.
By the way, you guys, I suspect Avi was being facetious.
By the way, you guys, I suspect Avi was being facetious.
sdferr: Dunno. It is a current strand of revisionist history.
Yes, and that’s why I suspect it.
sdferr: Isn’t that a line from “Ocean’s 11”?
Ah well. The semester is over and I’m feeling a little silly.
Avi must have been being facetious. There was no Soviet invasion. At least, not of Japan.
I read a news report online a day or so ago. Lauren Bruner of La Mirada CA will be the last survivor of the Arizona to be interred with his shipmates. There are three others but when they pass.they want to be buried with family.
So there you go, NEO. Now you you have a finer sense on how near we are to zero.
In a lesson of not doing one’s due diligence I found later he died in September. And Navy divers have already interred his ashes in barbette 4.
Steve57: Here’s an article summing up Avi’s claim, facetious or otherwise.
“The Bomb Didn’t Beat Japan … Stalin Did: Have 70 years of nuclear policy been based on a lie?”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/30/the-bomb-didnt-beat-japan-stalin-did/
It’s difficult to summarize or even excerpt sensibly. Take a look if you’re curious.
Watching the video of my father’s interview of his experiences in WW2, I don’t believe many of my kids generation could stomach having any exposure to that. Not the war itself, just the stories about it.
I saw a post earlier today that said, essentially, “When nobody remembers Pearl Harbor anymore, kill me”. I would like to point out that my 19-year-old son, by his own volition, got up early enough on Saturday morning to put the flag up before I woke. And, like a good Boy Scout who is up on his flag, lore, he had the porch light on so the flag was illuminated pre-dawn. Good for him.
One wonders if, in the case of the Saudis, we aren’t in the middle of a slow motion attack by Saudi Arabia and their nationals that is just spread out over several years, from 9/11 to the latest attack in Pensacola.
Time to stop pretending and looking the other way, and to treat the Saudis as the enemies—at bottom–that the evidence indicates they really are.