December 7th. A date which will live in infamy

[greenbriar]

Remembering those that bravely answered the call of duty

WWII

My mom lost two brothers. I never met them.


RIP
Sgt. Reynolds
CPL. Reynolds

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I salute their sacrifice and their service...

:cry:

May they rest in peace...


K&R

:patriot:

[greenbriar]

8. Thank you . Grandmother had 4 boys 3 served overseas during WWII

One stayed stateside

two died over seas

[ngant17]

2. My dad's memory for that day (old article_)

TEACHER GIVES EXPERIENCES OF PEARL HARBOR ATTACK
dated: 7 Dec 1966

For the 25th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, we
give you the personal experiences of W.B. Gant, teacher in Avon Park
High School (Floria), who as a teenager was stationed at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day.

Quoting Mr. Gant:"I did not know it at that time, but approximated
3000 American sailors, soldiers and marines were being butchered in
cold blood."

"Teenagers like myself and others in their prime of life were being
bombed and strafed. Some did not wake that Sunday morning, other were
eating in their washrooms and some were on duty. I saw the Japanese
attack Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941."

"Our Army unit - Company L, 19th Infantry Regiment had been
transferred from Schofield Barracks to guard the major ammunition
repository or depot of the Hawaiian Department of the Army. The
ammo, bombs, poisonous gasses and other explosives were stored in
magazines in the rim of an extinct volcano which we called the
Alimanu Crater."

"The Crater was situated approximately fives miles from Pearl Harbor
and was perhaps 1500 feet above sea level."

"I went on duty that morning at four, walking post as a sentry. I
did not observe anything unusual until about 7:30 a.m. At that time
a small civilian plane flew over the Crater. I telephoned the guard
house and was assured that the unauthorized plane would "be taken
care of."

"About one half hour later several planes burst through the clouds
toward Pearl Harbor. The leader broke formation and suddenly dived.
I heard a distant "boom" and the other bombers followed suit,
dropping their bombs and banking. Faint "booms" followed, then
bright flashes and then thunderous explosions. Black smoke billowed
and then louder explosions. As the planes circled for additional
bombing runs, some burst in mid-air, exploding in orange and red. I
saw three or four fall and explode, leaving smoke swirling behind.
Our shore batteries and anti-aircraft guns had come to life."

"I was too stupefied to become frightened until I heard shrapnel
swishing through the air, bullets singing and shell fragments
"spatting" the road."

When I regained my composure, I flattened myself on the rocky ground,
and not too soon either. As I hit the ground a shell fragment "swished" over my head and shattered the side of my telephone shack."

It remains a horrible memory to Mr. Gant and many more men, who had
similar experiences and was lucky to live and recall Peal Harbor.

President F. D. Roosevelt called it "A day that will live in infamy."
-----------------------------------------------------

I have an old newspaper photo of 2 Jap submarines which were sunk on that day in Pearl Harbor, too. Can upload separately if you want to see it.

[murielm99]

3. I just recommended this, based partly on your post.

Maybe you should post this thread and an OP.

[ngant17]

22. the so-called "mystery" Jap sub

according to this DU thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4174338

there is some "mystery" about a 2-man Jap sub. However my dad also saved an original article from the Honolulu Star which clearly shows a captured Jap sub intact! Doesn't seem like much of a mystery to me, have the researchers got their facts mixed up?

[independentpiney]

4. Thanks for posting that. A big salute to your dad

First person accounts of major historical events are invaluable. I have a similar account from a few years ago from my uncle who was an 18 y.o. gunners mate on the light cruiser USS Phoenix. The ship survived the attack (and war) unscathed, and actually started out afterwards looking for subs. I wish I had it available to post.

[midnight]

5. K&R. My dad lost his older brother who we never meet either.

[Dennis Donovan]

6. On BB-39 USS Arizona alone, 1177 lives were lost in an instant...

From Wikipedia:

Shortly before 0800, Japanese aircraft from six fleet carriers struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor, and — in the ensuing two attack waves — wrought devastation on the Battle Line and on air and military facilities defending Pearl Harbor.

Onboard Arizona, the ship's air raid alarm went off about 07:55, and the ship went to general quarters soon thereafter. Shortly after 08:00, a bomb dropped by a high-altitude Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber from the Japanese carrier Kaga hit the side of the #4 turret and glanced off into the deck below, starting a small fire but causing minimal damage.
Arizona's forward magazines explode in the only known color photograph from the attack.

At 08:06, a bomb from a Hiryū "Kate" hit between and to port of Turrets #1 & 2. The subsequent explosion — which destroyed the forward part of Arizona — was due to the detonation of the ammunition magazine, located in an armored section under the deck. Most experts seem to agree that the bomb could hardly have pierced the armor. Instead, it seems widely accepted that the black powder magazine (used for aircraft catapults) detonated first, igniting the smokeless powder magazine (used for the ship's main armament). A 1944 BUSHIP report suggests that a hatch leading to the black powder magazine was left open, with perhaps inflammable materials stocked nearby. A US Navy historical site goes as far as to suggest that black powder might have been stockpiled outside of the armored magazine. However, it seems unlikely that a definitive answer to this question might be found. Credit for the hit was officially given to Petty Officer Noburu Kanai, who was considered to be the JNAF's "crack" bombardier; his pilot was Tadashi Kusumi. The cataclysmic explosion ripped through the forward part of the ship, touching off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. Ironically, the blast from this explosion also put out fires on the repair ship Vestal, which was moored alongside.

Acts of heroism on the part of Arizona's officers and men were many, headed by those of Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship's damage control officer, whose coolness in attempting to quell the fires and get survivors off the ship earned him the Medal of Honor.

Posthumous awards of the Medal of Honor also went to Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, the first flag officer killed in the Pacific war, and to Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, who reached the bridge and was attempting to defend his ship when the bomb hit on the magazines destroyed her.

The blast that destroyed Arizona and sank her at her berth alongside of Ford Island took a total of 1,177 lives of the 1,400 crewmen on board at the time - over half of the casualties suffered by the entire fleet in the attack.

[flyarm]

7. My grandfather lost his eye on that ship in WWI as a gunner on the Arizona

My son got to raise a flag on the memorial for his Great Grandfather, and then got the flag after it flew on the memorial. I have wonderful picture of my grandfather with his uniform on and his cap with Arizona on it.

When his ship was sunk he tried to re-enlist but was turned down because he had a glass eye. On Dec 29th that year, when my father turned 17, my grandfather took his eldest son down and got him enlisted in the Navy! My dad served in the Pacific.

My father in law was in Oahu when Pearl Harbor was hit, he was a hispanic laborer working for the US government building underground fuel tanks. He and his brothers dove into the waters over and over pulling Navy men out of the water.

Yes this day lives in Infamy.

[COLGATE4]

10. R.I.P. men of BB-39.

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea! Amen.

[COLGATE4]

11. R.I.P. men of BB-39.

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea! Amen.

[COLGATE4]

12. R.I.P. men of BB-39.

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea! Amen.

[COLGATE4]

13. R.I.P., men of BB-39. Well done.

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea! Amen.

[loyalkydem]

9. Today

just also happens to be my birthday as well. So while its a good day for me, I will put all of you who lost loved ones in my prayers

[phasma ex machina]

14. K&R

[lala_rawraw]

15. yes, we know...

but it is also my b-day, so can we forgo the infamy part for a bit? i cannot escape it sadly:(

[tammywammy]

17. My grandparents married Dec 7, 1945

Growing up we always focused on the happy event that happened in history today, and not the tragic one.

[greenbriar]

19. My daughter's birthday is tomorrow

.

I know what it is like to have something bad happen on your birthday

[tammywammy]

16. My grandfather was luckily stationed in New Orleans on Dec 7

Was in Pearl Harbor not much later. Served in the Pacific the entire war.

He married my grandmother on Dec 7, 1945.

[BeFree]

18. Why was there a war?

If it was because of economics, who won the war?

And ain't it great that we don't treat Japanese as enemies anymore?

How come it nearly always happens that after the wars we become friends? Can we ever just become friend first and avert any war, or do we have to have war first?

Just questions from somebody who has shed tears while standing in Pearl Harbor.

[proteus_lives]

20. My mother's father served in the Pacific 1941-1945.

A Navy man, aboard a carrier. Rest in peace Granddad and thank you for your service.

[Rhiannon12866]

21. K&R. Thank you for the reminder, an important one, and I'm so sorry about your family...

Last night I reminded my mother about today and she told me when she first heard what had happened, from her father, when she was a kid. Her description brought it to life for me, and I could imagine how people felt on that day, reminded me of how people felt more recently, on 9/11. :-(

[branders seine]

23. hear, hear

:patriot:

[Hidden Stillness]

24. A Few Thoughts on This Date, Dec. 7th

My father was a Seabee in the Pacific during WWII, but I don't know anything about it really, because that generation didn't talk about it.

Just a few things about the Japanese Army that I learned, for those on DU who are so horrifically ignorant. A little was picked up by reading or listening over the years, and much was from the China episode yesterday on TCM, form the "Why We Fight" series. That was a great, very informative series, recognizing the propaganda angle, because they were still then at war, and trying to keep and weary andsacrificing people's spirits up. About the sacrifices, by the way, I know from our family that there was an uncle on a farm, who could not get parts for a needed tractor, applying over and over again, for all the four years of the war. They really could not get things; they also participated in rubber drives, paper drives, metal drives, recycling cans for the war, etc., and had Victory Gardens so commercial produce could be sent to the troops. At one point, one-third of all the produce grown in the U.S. during WWII, was from Victory Gardens.

Japan was like Germany and Italy, all fascistic military dicatorships and all, bixarrely, launching these attempt to take over the world from their own regions. Germany took Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc., expanding; Italy took Ethiopia, expanding; and Japan, following its own Tanaka Plan (Japan's Foriegn Minister, I think), was going to obliterate and subjugate the peaceful and not moderized country of China, then expand to the South Pacific islands. Japan had already shown itself to be a brutal, vicious, extremely feared army--torturing, murdering civialians who had already surrendered, capturing women and raping them (as "comfort women"), then torturing them to death--the few who survived have been trying for all these years to get restitution from the Japanese Government for this atrocity, and the courts there have dismissed it every time. Japan, unprovoked, attacked the independant section of China known as Manchuria, launched a total genocide, wiped the country off the map, then got bogged down.

Meanwhile, the then thriving, international city of Shanghai launched two separate boycotts of Japan, after Japan illegally blockaded Shanghai so it could not get shipments at its own ports. Both 1932 and 1937, these attempted commercial boycotts by Shanghai were met with heavy Japanes bombbardment, and genocide upon landing on shore. Then, the worst of all, the attack on fleeing civilians called "The Rape of Nanking," 1937. The Japanese took the city and area, and as the people fled, the Japanese army launched a totally hysterically cruel bloodbath, an attack of rape, burning, stabbing, mutilating, shooting, battering, so unGodly horrifying, that it outraged the world at that time. It came out that this terroristic attack, new for that war, was planned. The Japanese commited many genocides, murdered prisoners and civilians, destroyed whole areas of countries, raped, put the skulls of victims on posts for villagers to find, had concentration camps, death camps (for civilians), and internment camps, just as the Nazis had.

When the horrific slaughter against the Chinese was not going as planned, and stalled, they moved ahead with the next part of the Tanaka conquest plan, to the islands of the South Pacific, where agian, they committed genocides, destroyed areas, terrorized whole populations, and continued. Then, on December 7th, 1941, they decided to get rid of the U.S. bases of the area, so they could continue. When the attack happened, it was known immediately--as I remember my Mom telling me--everyone knew then that we were now at war, and it was going to be bad. Thank God we had Franklin Roosevelt, an educated public-spirited people who knew already what had been building up for years (the British had already been heavily attacked and bombed by Germany many times by then), and this was when we still had the moral authority to fight a war against torture and oppression.

[cowcommander]

25. Good post

Yeah, sadly there's a lot of ignorance on DU as well when it comes to history. WW2 was a war we had to fight, no matter what anyone else might think of America's intentions for entering the war, the guys we were fighting were truly, genuinely evil fuckers that had to be stopped.