65 Year Anniversary

[Kishiro]

I suppose everyone else has forgotten.
Regardless, here is a reminder of the event that started the change of the face of the world as we know it, and how everything we do is done.

For all the soldiers lost 65 years ago, and all of them lost in the war, thank you, you did not die in vain. For all the family members of those soldiers, thank you for supporting them. For all the soldiers that made it through those four years of hell, you earned your rest, and our lives to this day are indebted to you.

At dawn, on December 7th, 1941, a Sunday morning, the quiet and sleepy base of the U.S. Navy's pacific fleet, Pearl Harbor, was turned in to a war zone. Japanese fighters and bombers swarmed the base, and sank the ships all lined in a row, neatly in the harbor. Men, Women, Children, Families, Nurses, Soldiers and Civilians alike were all subjected to gun fire and bomb dropping, were they anywhere near the targets of the Japanese forces. The next day, The United States of America entered World War II.

"December 7th, 1941, is a day that will live, in infamy." -- President Roosevelt, December 8th, 1941.


A burning ship at Pearl Harbor, engulfed in smoke.

The USS Arizona, sunk in the shallow harbor, is still visible just below the water. During low tide, the smoke stacks rise from the water. - Click




The attack on Pearl Harbor was the culmination of a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States over the status of China and the security of Southeast Asia. The breakdown began in 1931 when Japanese army extremists, in defiance of government policy, invaded and overran the northern-most Chinese province of Manchuria. Japan ignored American protests, and in the summer of 1937 launched a full-scale attack on the rest of China. Although alarmed by this action, neither the United States nor any other nation with interests in the Far East was willing to use military force to halt Japanese expansion.
Over the next three years, war broke out in Europe and Japan joined Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance. The United States applied both diplomatic and economic pressures to try to resolve the Sino-Japanese conflict. The Japanese government viewed these measures, especially an embargo on oil, as threats to their nation's security. By the summer of 1941, both countries had taken positions from which they could not retreat without a serious loss of national prestige. Although both governments continued to negotiate their differences, Japan had already decided on war.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a grand strategy of conquest in the Western Pacific. The objective was to immobilize the Pacific Fleet so that the United States could not interfere with these invasion plans. The principal architect of the attack was admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Though personally opposed to war with America, Yamamoto knew that Japan's only hope of success in such a war was to achieve quick and decisive victory. America's superior economic and industrial might would tip the scales in her favor during a prolonged conflict.

From - www.pearl-harbor.us

My Grandfather served in WWII, and he toured Europe. I have his map hanging on my wall in my kitchen, along with his patches, medals, ribbons, dog tags, and two pictures of him. Does anyone else have any family that served in the Second Great War?

[Ωmega]

Oh trust me, I remembered. My boss at work uploads pics into our database, and the newest one is "Happy Pearl Harbor Day". Now, before anyone goes off on a "happy? people died, how is that happy??" tanjit, hes in the airforce, and has a pretty nice rank.

Anyway, my grandfather wasnt actually there, but he was stantioned elsewhere during that time. So we all took a moment of silence for him and a few friends he lost during the attack.

[Luna13]

Oh I remembered(with a little help from my teacher I knew it was the 7th or 8th). My great gradfather fought and died in WW II. He wasn't in the Harbor but stationed somewhere else. He was shot down a few years later over in Europe.

[Ichiro Matsuchani]

I'll be honest where others will not, for obvious reasons. I know it was a day that changed America, and that it was the reason we turned all of our resources to that horrible war, but I had indeed forgotten the "holiday".

It almost makes me feel bad about it, since I had a grandfather who lost his leg in the war, even though he was never stationed in Pearl Harbor.

[FarEastStyle]

Oh I remembered I had 6 uncles in WW2, only 2 of them still live.
I don't really know if any one of them were stationed near the area but they all came out of the war okay.

[Sephiroth]

Pearl Harbor was a military target. Against the Japanese, American fire-bombing raids and atomic weapons destroyed large civilian populations. My great grandfather served in a bomber against Germany, and he was celebrated, but it doesn't justify the war.

[Kishiro]

Nothing justifies senseless killing...

But in my opinion, the allies settling and winning the war was very justified, and called for. The way we ended and won the war, and the conventions put it in to place are and were all good doings and ideas. The preservation of our nation, and the rebellion to oppression were both two key factors in the war, although truthfully not our only goals and reasons.

I hate to say it... But sometimes fighting is necessary. I believe that whole-heartedly. However, it should be a last resort.

[Sephiroth]

Sure, the way we ended the war was good in the context of the war, in that it prevented the potential loss of many more lives, but from whichever way you view it, ultimately it was possible for the United States to avoid involvement in the war, if that had been the priority; however, we can't change the past, so it's best to not dwell on it and instead work toward future relations with Japan as opposed to obsessing over how badly we crushed them decades ago like it still has relevance in the modern world (in a forum dedicated to anime, no less). But I mostly agree with you, so don't misunderstand.

[Kishiro]

it's best to not dwell on it and instead work toward future relations with Japan as opposed to obsessing over how badly we crushed them decades ago like it still has relevance in the modern world (in a forum dedicated to anime, no less). But I mostly agree with you, so don't misunderstand.

You know, it is funny you say that. I think most people might have veered away from this thread because they don't want to see or view Japan in a bad light. But I hope they know that isn't what I'm trying to convey.

Yeah, Japan attacked us, yes, people have "Made in America, Tested in Japan" atomic bomb shirts, it was war, that's what happens in war. But it isn't about the war itself, so much as it is about what got us in to the war. Also, I think things would have been and would be rather terrible hadn't the US entered the war. It is no question that we are the reason that the allies won. The reinforcement was very much needed.

[Smitty]

The reinforcement was needed. I love history and World War II just so happens to be one of my favorite periods. What happened at Pearl Harbor was, in my opinion, one of the single most important days in history. Sure we were planning on entering the war beforehand, but this motivated the American people to action. Without it World War II might have ended up like Vietnam, a loss of civilian support.

[Ichiro Matsuchani]

Sure, the way we ended the war was good in the context of the war, in that it prevented the potential loss of many more lives, but from whichever way you view it, ultimately it was possible for the United States to avoid involvement in the war, if that had been the priority; however, we can't change the past, so it's best to not dwell on it and instead work toward future relations with Japan as opposed to obsessing over how badly we crushed them decades ago like it still has relevance in the modern world (in a forum dedicated to anime, no less). But I mostly agree with you, so don't misunderstand.

Well, it wasn't technically entirely our fault for getting involved in the war in the first place, seeing that they bombed us first. What if we didn't do anything at all in response to the bombing? What if we just gave the Japanese what they wanted and let them continue their conquest of Asia? The world today would be much different if that were so.

[Sephiroth]

Well, it wasn't technically entirely our fault for getting involved in the war in the first place, seeing that they bombed us first. What if we didn't do anything at all in response to the bombing? What if we just gave the Japanese what they wanted and let them continue their conquest of Asia? The world today would be much different if that were so.

You aren't fully considering why Japan attacked us or why we were initially concerned with their invading China, et al. I think in many ways, the events of WW2 are similar to our invasion of Iraq today, especially the controvesy/conspiracies surrounding it.

But I didn't want this to become a debate, so I'm going to step out.

My final opinion/assessment: Every major war in history could have been prevented. WW2 was a mistake from which we should learn, not something to be proud of. And I don't agree with propagandizing the military. Sorry.

[Eris]

Nothing justifies senseless killing...

Nothing justifies dwelling on it for 65 years either.

[Kishiro]

Nothing justifies dwelling on it for 65 years either.

See, this is why I should keep on putting "If you don't have anything worth while to contribute, don't post." at the bottom of most things. Nothing better than piping hot anti-spam spam, eh?

It isn't dwelling on it either, that'd imply we were living, reliving, and talking about it every day. I know you don't much care for America, our history, or traditions, or anything that we particularly care about, but I'm not going to sit back and not reply when you try to make a mockery of an event that effected you know... THE WHOLE WORLD. A day of remembrance, thought, an reflection isn't so out of order is it? You're one for philosophy and philosophers, take it from what G.S. said, and then you tell me that thinking about the day and the events before and after it, and that war itself aren't worth thinking about and reflecting upon.

Or maybe we can just run forward with our eyes closed, with nuclear scissors in our hands, and never learn from our mistakes, there is always that too.