It's A Date

I was going to write something about watching a yule log video, but it occurred to me that today is Pearl Harbor Day. Coming on the heels of Nelson Mandela's death, I wonder if it will be much remembered, except by the likes of me. I find it easy enough to remember. FDR's speech after the tragedy is very memorable in itself, and as it starts with the date of the event, seeing that it is December 7th never fails to remind me.

I can hardly imagine what it was like to be there, or merely to be alive and bear any kind of witness to the event and its aftermath. America, I guess, had little interest in getting involved before it happened. Afterwards, what choice did we have? Some say that our political leadership let it happen, wanting as they did to get us into the fight that had already been raging overseas. It does seem curious that our most valuable ships should have been out of the harbor, but then what point there is in dredging up that debate, I don't know.

It must have been just terrifying. Naturally it must have been horrible for the sailors and other who were their (particularly those who perished or were wounded). It must also have been very frightening for those who wondered what was to come next. For the duration of the war years, the people in Hawaii and the west coast had to know that more attacks were all too possible. The whole nation felt the burden of the war, of course, but those on the coast were targets.

Being from Arizona, I always felt some small, faint connection, as the USS Arizona was infamously sunk during the attack. If one visits the Arizona state capitol, there is a memorial and a collection of artifacts. It's very affecting to see it. I wish more people did, but the grounds of the state capitol are not among the more popular sights to see in the Grand Canyon state. Anyway, today I'm thinking about Pearl Harbor and what it all means.