79 years ago - December 7th, 1941 - Japanese airplanes bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The sneak attack prompted the United States of America to declare its entry into World War Two.
For all the lives lost on that long distant day flags are flying at half staff today.
I read it in The Writer's Almanac this morning. My dad served in WWII. Love the reminder of why a flag is at half mast because half the time I haven't got a clue! Thanks, Bruce!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bruce. Gayle and I will put out our flags this morning.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this remembrance.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was still teaching, a student asked me, "Isn't today the day when we bombed Japan?" Yikes.
ReplyDeleteLest we forget.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think those who follow us will remember or observe this date?
ReplyDeleteI knew a man who was a Pearl Harbor veteran. He had some amazing stories. He was just a kid. He was scared to death. He talked about the water being on fire, and the bodies in the water, and the planes. The machine gunner swung the gun around to follow the path of a plan firing the whole way. He severed the flagpole, and the flag came crashing to the deck. The attack was so sudden that in the confusion no one could find anyone with the keys to the place where the ammo was stored, so the men broke in.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange being in the UK on Pearl Harbor Day, because it doesn't get nearly the attention it gets in the states. (Understandably)
ReplyDeleteAmong other places they attacked that day, too.
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