Remembering Pearl Harbor

on and attacked the U.S. naval base and the Army air base at Pearl Harbor. That catapulted the United States irrevocably into World War II.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt then galvanized the U.S. Congress into action with his memorable speech which started with: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

Much of our Pacific fleet was crippled. Included in the destruction were: four battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, and several other ships and subs were sunk; almost 200 planes were destroyed; about 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 wounded in that disaster. Interestingly, this attack was engineered to prevent the United States from entering the war, which would enable Japan to advance her imperialistic goals.

Instead, Japan’s surprise attack — prior to declaring war — propelled the mighty nation into action which sealed the Japanese Imperial Navy’s doom. The U.S. aircraft carriers which Japan intended to sink at Pearl Harbor were not there. Admiral Nimitz had sent them elsewhere, and the aircraft from those ships destroyed the Japanese Imperial Navy six months later in the Battle of Midway. My deceased father was on the USS Yorktown in that battle. His book, “The USS Yorktown at Midway,” tells about that event.

We, as a nation, must not forget about the attack on Pearl Harbor. No, we don’t hate the Japanese, but if we forget history, we will forget who we are and why our nation exists.

When I worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory — where our first atomic bombs were constructed — every year well-meaning people (Japanese and Americans) protested on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9. Those were the dates the U.S. dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We dropped them because Japan would not stop fighting; evidently, their leaders were convinced that their gods wanted them to rule the world. It was “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” (the bombs) which helped them decide to end the war.

But every year, some people in America protested against our dropping the bombs. They couldn’t understand that those bombs would not have been dropped if Japan had not started the war. They chose to ignore the aggressors who initiated the event, and instead blamed the victims. This is wrong!

Because we forgot about Pearl Harbor, the Alamo and Goliad, and particularly forgot the reason the European Pilgrims came to the new world in the first place (freedom of worship), we have opened the social and political doors for current oppression.

We must turn back to our roots for stability, or our nation will socially and politically capsize. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

God is waiting for us to respond. What is your decision?

•••