Remembering Pearl Harbor

By: American Decency Staff

By Chris Johnson To my generation, December 7th is simply the day after December 6th and before December 8th. But to many of what is recognized as "the greatest generation," the date harbors painful memories and deep emotions. It's usually not until I hear a piece on the radio or catch a news headline that I remember it's Pearl Harbor Day – the beginning of America's involvement in World War II and, more importantly, the day that 2,400 Americans lost their lives. Unfortunately, the intensity and loss will never be as real to those of us who were not only not there but would not be born for several decades as it is to those who lived it – particularly those who lost someone in that brutal attack 70 years ago. I say unfortunately because it's only right that the events of December 7, 1941 should be remembered with pain and deep emotion, not by watching grainy videos of Japanese kamikaze planes on the History Channel. After all, thousands of America's sons who should have had children and grandchildren of their own and lived a full and complete life by 2011 were instead sent to a sudden death and buried at the bottom of the Pacific rather than their own hometowns. But, remembrance is always more calloused than experience and history is more calloused yet. I know that the generations who follow me will never understand what is was like watching the twin towers fall on September 11 – the sadness, the rage, the pity – and, as I'm sure those few still living who remember Pearl Harbor agree, I hope they never do understand. Yet I hope they do what they can to not only remember the facts, but to try to feel the emotion of that day. It is to our shame if September 11 and December 7 are ever simply a paragraph in a history book and not a national tragedy. Below is a link to several firsthand accounts. It's up to us to try to feel the emotion. http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/last-witnesses-memories-pearl-harbor-attack ========================================================== Your support is important to our ability to make a difference. Donate online at: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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