December 7th, 1941

[Crafty_Dog]

A day to remember--as is the aftermath.  

Through the haze of John Wayne movies those of us born after WW2 may not realize that there were tremendous mistakes made during our waging of that war-- but we came together and figured it out and did what had to be done.

[buzwardo]

One of the things I loathe about the news biz is that most the talking heads have no sense of context whatsoever. They strike me for the most part as a bunch of shallow communications majors who spent far more time learning how to preen in front of a camera instead of assembling the tools needed for cogent analysis.

This sad state of current affairs is lampooned at the following URL:

http://www.goodolddogs3.com/If-IwoJima-Happened2day.html


"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."

William Tecumseh Sherman

[Crafty_Dog]

  Re: Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2009, 01:01:14 PM »     

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Remembering Pearl Harbor
"December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. ... Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. 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. ... With confidence in our armed forces -- with the unbounded determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God." --Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat far removed from today's crop of defeatists

On that fateful "Day of Infamy," 353 Japanese planes attacked a military target killing 2,390 American servicemen and civilians and wounding 1,282. The attack sank or damaged eight battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers and one minelayer and destroyed 188 aircraft. It took four years and the full military-industrial capability of the United States to defeat Japan. It is with honor and respect for those who died or suffered terrible injuries that Sunday morning that we should never again fall into the slumber that allowed such a tragedy as Pearl Harbor -- or the attack on Sept. 11, 2001 -- again.
 

[pappydog]

I have been to Pearl Harbor and worked there and drank a few mai tais. The buildings there have been modernized but there still are machine gun holes from Japanese Zeros in the buildings at the base as a reminder.
It is sobering.

Pappy Dog

[Crafty_Dog]

My dad served in the Navy in New Guineau during the war.  He was a Sea Bee building airstrips.

[pappydog]

Building an airstrip is hard work. Now do it while someone is shooting at you. Go SeaBees!

[Crafty_Dog]

The two stories he told me that I remember:

a) a feud with the Army over 10,000 cases of captured Japanese beer,

b) A movie about the impeachment of President Andrew Jackson was interrupted by an air raid.  A few of the officers were making bets with some of the less educated enlisted men over how it was going to turn out.

[DougMacG]

Thank you guys for marking the day that shall live in infamy.  It means a great deal to the people who lived through that time when America was attacked.  The lessons of readiness and peace through strength need to be passed forward.  My grandpa served in Pearl Harbor (after the attack) and my Dad in Europe.  I can't know what it was like for them.  I never thought of them as war heroes but they all were for their part of what was accomplished for their families at home and for all of us who came later.

Punks like Obama and Greenpeace or whoever want to question the value of ending that war with 1940s Japan in brutal victory.  Every lesson since then indicates that readiness and willingness to end a war in victory is what prevents the attacks and the wars.  If Japan had known the ending, that attack would never have happened. (MHO)