Honor dead by recalling ‘infamy’ Jim SULLIVAN

One of the realities of life is that the past eventually becomes hazy, sometimes forgotten entirely.

For individuals, this can be a good thing. The human mind may take a horrendous personal tragedy and hide clear memory of it deep in the psyche. Such defense mechanism allows the sufferer to continue life without being crippled emotionally.

Our collective memory of horrendous national events also tends to be lesser with the passing of years. That’s not a defense mechanism. It’s just a function of those who lived through such events dying and newer generations not caring. That’s not good.

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked American military installations at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On that day 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,143 were wounded. Although the possibility existed before then of America entering World War II — thus the reason for the Japanese pre-emptive strike — such a sneak attack was answerable in only one way: Declaration of war on Japan and, days later, on its Axis partners in Europe.

Some 420,000 American deaths later, the war was won. It was, by some reckoning, the last war fought by the United States that had an unambiguously clear and righteous objective. The other side was evil, period. We had been subject to an attack on our own soil (Hawaii was not then a state, but was a U.S. territory) and the horror stories coming out of Europe — concerning treatment of the Jews especially, but of many other groups as well — were incredible. As it turned out, the evils were unspeakably worse than even our own propaganda imagined them to be. There was no doubt concerning who the good guys were.

Today, 76 years after the attack that triggered our official entry into that cauldron of hell, it is known by some only as a bit of knowledge needed to pass a history test, like the Battle of Hastings or the conquests of Alexander and Napoleon, other military endeavors about which most in this country would be hardpressed to recite more than two or three pertinent facts.

This lack of memory is not likely to improve organically. Those who served in that war and still live are about 3.5 percent of the total who were there. The remainder are passing at a rate to be expected, as the youngest are 90 years of age and the eldest over 100. When the day comes that none who served survive, there will be much less of a felt need to remember with clarity. The “date that will live in infamy,” as President Franklin Roosevelt termed it, will become just another footnote on calendars.

Lest you think it should become trivia, since our relations with those we fought back then are relatively wonderful now, consider that the same fate will eventually befall tragedies closer to our present day. Someday 9/11 will also be consigned to the dustbin of history. If there is peace in the Middle East at that time, and we’re on good terms with Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and so forth, we will rightly be thankful for such a blessing, but while the collective memory might dim, the sacrifices of many individuals should never be forgotten.

That’s why Pearl Harbor should be remembered. Animosity with former enemies isn’t the point. The point is to always remember our valiant dead.

Today, 76 years after the attack on on Pearl Harbor, it is known by some only as a bit of knowledge needed to pass a history test.