Dearest Readers:
I would like to take a moment of time, a moment of silence, in memory of Pearl Harbor Day. Today, December 7, 2016 is the 75th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
I’ve visited Hawaii twice. Both times, I wanted to tour the memorial; however, it was closed for renovations, improvements, etc. The military holds a special significance inside my heart. I remember studying about the Pearl Harbor attack in history class. One of my class projects was about Pearl Harbor. Although my teacher gave me an A+, and she read my project to the class, she refused to return my project. This was back in the days of typewriters, not computers. What is a typewriter, you might ask? Before computers and keyboarding typing was a subject in high school. I am thankful I learned to type the correct way, not the hunt, punch, pecking order most people use now.
Reportedly, according to my husband, his father was stationed on the USS Arizona. He survived. Although I met my father-in-law, never did I hear him speak about Pearl Harbor Day and his survival. He didn’t speak much at all, that is, until he was so drunk one could not understand his speech. I honestly do not know what it was like to live at that time, or to see Japanese planes attacking, burning, and destroying beautiful Hawaii, the USS Arizona and other ships and killing so many of our military. Some of the family say my father-in-law drank so much because of Pearl Harbor. I have my doubts about that statement, simply because my father-in-law was quick to blame others for any of his betrayals, deceptions and life in general.
Posted below is a site I discovered while researching about Pearl Harbor. http://www.history.com/news/5-facts-about-pearl-harbor-and-the-uss-arizona
Reading that site, I discovered Elvis Presley helped raise $50,000 in funds for the memorial back in March, 1961. Truly a site worthy of reading, just to learn a bit more about Pearl Harbor.
Twenty-three sets of brothers died on the USS Arizona. One full set of brothers, Kenneth and Russell Warriner, survived the attack. You can read about them by visiting the site: http://triblive.com/news/editorspicks/7193335-74/harbor-pearl-kralik
There is much that is written about Pearl Harbor. One interesting topic is the fact that our military veterans rarely talk about their experiences. Reportedly, “The total number of military personnel killed was 2,335, including 2,008 navy personnel, 109 marines, and 218 army. Added to this were 68 civilians, making the total 2403 people dead. 1,177 were from the USS Arizona.” https://visitpearlharbor.org/faqs/how-many-people-died-at-pearl-harbor-during-the-attack/
To all of you who know about Pearl Harbor Day, especially those who had relatives you lost due to these attacks, I would like to thank you for serving your country, or for knowing someone who served during this time. Daily, we lose World War II veterans. Some of those veterans I have had the pleasure of meeting on occasions, and when I see someone wearing a World War II Veteran cap, I give them a hug and say thank you.
Today, I honor all of them by writing a bit about Pearl Harbor Day. On December 7, 1941 at 7:55am, the attack began. East coast time was 12:55pm. I have set my IPhone to alarm me at 12:55pm today. I will share a moment of silence and prayer for the day which “began in infamy.” http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5166
As we make plans to celebrate the holidays, let us remember Pearl Harbor…9-11… and all of the battles the USA sent our precious military to fight for our freedom, including Viet Nam. To our military, I pray for you daily. I thank you for your dedication to America. May we never forget those we’ve lost.
In memory of Pearl Harbor Day I salute and thank all of you. May God bless our country.
Barbie Perkins-Cooper, Author 