71 years later

"December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy...."

On this day, 71 years ago, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in a pre-emptive attempt to stop us from entering WWII. 

It had the opposite effect. 

That propelled us into the war, and in the end, the USA ended the Japanese involvement in WWII by dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

My grandfather fought in WWII, and although he wasn't present on Pearl Harbor that day, he could rarely be persuaded to discuss any of the war. 

We should remember and honor those who lost their lives that day. 

Too often, my generation forgets and shrugs off the sacrifices our grandparents made so long ago.

But to those still living who remember it, it's not old history.

It's part of what made them who they are.

Never forget the men who lost their lives.

The base was attacked by 353^[13] Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers.^[13] All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of these eight damaged, two were raised, and with four repaired, six battleships returned to service later in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,^{[nb 4]} and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed^[15] and 1,282 wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured. 

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it", - George Santayana 

We should be careful about voting to reduce our military and defense spending in favor of social and welfare programs that reward the lazy and criminal parts of society.

The 2,402 Americans who lost their lives deserve a better memorial than that.



*excerpts from Wikipedia