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REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR
Today is the 84th anniversary of the unprovoked attack on the Pacific Fleet. The Empire of Japan learned they could kill soldiers and sailors in a cowardly sneak attack, but they could not kill the American spirit.
It was in the early hours of the morning of December 7, 1941, that the Naval Intelligence officers stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, realized they were being attacked by the Japanese Imperial Air Force. It was an utter mismatch, as the Americans were not at all prepared for an attack of any nature; neither our ships nor planes were in ready combat position or anything close. When it was over, we lost more than 2,300 sailors and soldiers, and more than 1,100 wounded. Two battleships, the Oklahoma and the Arizona, were destroyed, with most of the day’s casualties, and several destroyers, cruisers and other vessels were badly damaged. Of 200 American planes on the ground, only 43 were capable of flight, but with those, plus the remaining firepower from ships and land-based anti aircraft, the beleaguered and surprised Americans did fight back. The Japanese lost 60 planes, 5 midget submarines, two fleet submarines, but less than 100 men.
What made the sneak attack particularly vile was that at the time, the two governments were engaging in negotiations to defuse tensions between them. The Japanese government opted to use the talks as a distracting ruse, aiming for a…
