And it doesn’t help that Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor movie was such a trainwreck it’s not like anyone has any reason to see it.
Do they even still teach it in high school?
For me, Pearl Harbor Day is especially poignant because I’m currently in Hawaii. It’s not just a memory to the Hawaiian people who are still around – it changed their world.
Clearly this was one of the darkest days in our country’s history. On the other hand, it rallied the country and led the way to some of our most shining hours.
I take some comfort in that since I feel our nation is being tested yet again. My hope is that, as in times of darkness before, we will prevail and even triumph.
But for today, I want to just remember Pearl Harbor, the brave men who fought for our freedom and brave women who contributed so much at home. You’ve been called the Greatest Generation. My sincere wish is that we can live up to your example.
Mahalo.
18 comments :
Ken:
I thought you might appreciate this column, written by an award-winning reporter who used to work with me at The Post-Standard in Syracuse.
http://buffalonews.com/2016/12/07/cold-day-buffalo-eyewitness-pearl-harbor/
Wow. Unexpected, and beautifully put. Thanks, Ken.
My Pearl Harbor post.
Five years ago today, I wrote this entry for "Carole & Co." looking at the Los Angeles of Dec. 7, 1941, and its reaction to that fateful day -- which 40 days later would lead to the premature passing of the lady in my avatar:
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/466688.html
While the soap opera parts of Bay's movie may have been tripe, the historical aspects of both the attack and, especially, the subsequent Doolittle raid on Tokyo were dead on accurate. It was, in fact, the first accurate film telling of that mission, far more accurate than Spencer Tracy's 30 seconds over Tokyo.
In 1969, I was fortunate to have performed for the USO in Korea for our troops. There is nothing uglier than war, but it was an eye-opening experience for a young hot head who was not a fan of the military. While it still scares the hell out of me, I came away with massive respect and affection for the men and women in uniform who help protect my right to be and say silly things. And they were at Peal Harbor doing the same thing. I think of them. The world's a tough place.
"You miss her like Michael Bay missed the mark in Pearl Harbor..."
Well said.
Well said, Ken. It's because of that greatest generation that we were born in a free county. God bless them.
What? You didn't like "Pearl Harbor, The Love Story"?
I am pretty amazed that there was not more response to your post. I am about your age or possibly a little bit older and I don't remember being taught anything about Pearl Harbor or World War 2. I was 14 20 years after Pearl Harbor, so obviously fairly fresh. I remember seeing stories in the paper every Dec 7th. Needless to say it has been a long time since high school. I don't know if we even reached the depression. There is just so much history to learn. It has been 51 years since I graduated high school. There has been a lot of history in 50 years. How can any one have a good sense of what has happened in the past? I am sure there are students today who really have no clue about Pearl Harbor. Some day 9/11 will just be a memory. I wouldn't say I am a history buff by any imagination. I really didn't know all that much about Hamilton. I knew he was in a duel. I knew he wrote the most of the Federalist Papers. Certainly not much more than that. I got a much better sense of him after reading Chernow's book about him. I am now reading a book about RFK. I probably know more about him then Hamilton, but not by much. I am learning a lot from the book. I wish more people were interested in history. Maybe it would help them make better choices in choosing their politicians.
Tora! Tora! Tora! is a great great film. Gripping, even though we know the ending.
Sanford...
It's hard for history to compete with the false world of pop culture.
Heck, I bet most people under 30 can name all of the Kardashians, and not be able name all three of their Congressional representatives.
My grandmother lost her only sons in WWII, one in the Japanese bombing of the U.S.S. Franklin and the other during a Coast Guard training exercise on Lake Michigan. My father was a frogman in the Underwater Demolition Team 7 unit and received a silver star medal for valor. After placing the explosives, if you weren't on the surface when the rubber raft came to pick you up, you were left behind. My dad came back, and with financial aid from a benefactor, earned a masters degree in engineering in one year from MIT. Lockheed Aircraft hired him based solely on his resume, and he worked there for 35 years. He was a functioning alcoholic who never said a word about wartime. How can that experience not affect a person for the rest of his/her life? I can't even imagine the horror. War is a tragic waste of young lives, and I really thought in my lifetime we'd be closer to peaceful co-existence throughout the world. May those who are suffering with illness and injury find the strength to carry on and those who have given their lives rest in peace.
Sanford, lots of people have no memory of 9/11 right now. I remember in 2002, there were lots of college kids in a history class that had no knowledge of Bill Clinton's impeachment.
People born after 1990, I would be suspicious if they have knowledge of 9/11, perhaps even 1985.
A close family friend, "Aunt" Ruthie Bryant, served as a WAV nurse during the attack of Pearl Harbor. I remember my grandmother showing me the folder of typed, heavily redacted letters that Aunt Ruthie sent back to Iowa about her wartime experiences. I told my daughter about Aunt Ruthie yesterday, so she would realize these historical events were connected to those of us living today. I just hope someone got those letters to an archive--they were valuable eye witness accounts.
Kathryn a Librarian
Though the show has become rather repetitve as of late, Hawaii Five 0 has some great Pearl Harbor episodes with good flashbacks of the day.
Lorimartian: It is not surprising your father didn't speak of the war. Very few people did back then. A friend's father was a POW in a German camp, never talked about it. Not until after his retirement when he started meeting other veterans that stories emerged. The greatest generation didn't think they needed to share the horrors, bad enough for them, no need for others.
As for myself, I always wanted to study WWI and II in history class, thanks to all the movies that glorified war, with only a little horror, back then. But none of my history classes ever got that current.
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