December 7, 1941. 7:55am Hawaii time.
74 years ago today, a dive bomber proudly sporting the symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings, accompanied by 360 Japanese warplanes, descended from the sky over the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, beginning a massive air assault that in the end destroyed a majority of the Pacific Fleet. Approximately 2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,200 were wounded.
The United States was thrust into WWII.
From the National WWII Museum, New Orleans:
Approximately every three minutes a memory of World War II – its sights and sounds, its terrors and triumphs – disappears. Yielding to the inalterable process of aging, the men and women who fought and won the great conflict are now mostly in their 90s. They are dying quickly – at the rate of approximately 492 a day, according to US Veterans Administration figures.
Please take a moment today to remember these heroes. The greatest generation. And if you have a minute, read this snippet from this day as remembered by Navy Ensign Joe Langdell, the last surviving member of the USS Arizona who passed away in February at 100 years old.
God Bless America.
