80 years ago to the hour

[dnewton3]

Near the conclusion of this hour, approximately 7:55am Hawaii time, it will have been exactly 80 years ago the US suffered our tragic loss at Pearl Harbor.

As that generation fades from this earth, it seems we hear less and less about it. Let us not forget those who suffered and those who paid the ultimate price serving our country. Send your thoughts, praryers or silent condolences to the memory of all involved that day of Infamy.

Godspeed to all.

 

[dishdude]

I was just at the memorial last month, crazy the USS Arizona is still sitting on the bottom of the ocean...you can still smell the oil seeping from it.

 

[tyman]

I was just at the memorial last month, crazy the USS Arizona is still sitting on the bottom of the ocean...you can still smell the oil seeping from it.

View attachment 80342

I was there in May.

It's said that anywhere from 1-9 qts of oil/fuel a day seeps up.

 

[JeffKeryk]

My father enlisted in the Navy afterwards; he had to memorize the eye chart to pass.
My Mom had 5 brothers; all were overseas.
Uncle Terry was a Marine war hero who fought in the Guadalcanal Campaign.

Serious stuff. The Greatest Generation, for sure.

 

[mattwithcats]

Many of the unidentifiable and unknown who were buried in the Punchbowl cemetery have been disinterred and identified…

338 members of the USS Oklahoma have been identified…

USS Oklahoma casualties identified - Pearl Harbor National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I read about that / the Olahoma today how year by year they keep identifying many of the lost boys who were killed that day. One guy who survived says he imediatley went down inside the ship only to go right back up to hand ammunition to the gunners the minute he saw the guys closing the hatches. He said in less than 5 minutes the ship threw him over as it rolled on its side, hit by too many bombs to count. Lucky fellow. Private contractors were still able to cut holes in the hull with torches and rescue several of the crew who had been trapped below for up to 2-3 days after the attacks.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Sad for sure. I was the only one at work who knew it was Pearl Harbor Day. Haha I have to admit though the only reason I remember it is because my sister has a birthday today and so does my best friends dad so I have two birthdays to remember and remember the day for Pearl Harbor as well. RIP to everyone who lost their lives that day.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I was just at the memorial last month, crazy the USS Arizona is still sitting on the bottom of the ocean...you can still smell the oil seeping from it.

View attachment 80342

The Captain of the Arizona was standing at the rail on the bridge as he saw the bomb drop thru his ship. The main bomb and possibly the only one that went clean thru the ships deck & levels and landed in the armory / powder storage area where the deadly ship's guns powder was held in the safest place the navy could store it. Of course no one ever figured on such a direct hit on the ship in a full on battle. Let alone a sitting duck under an evil surprise attack. No one knows but they figure he had no more than a split second to process what he had seen in his last moment alive. They do know his hands were on the rail. They actually found his wedding ring fused to part of the rails. It was returned to his family years later. He truly went down with the ship and most of his crew, His body not recovered has been assumed incinerated or blown to bits upon the massive explosion that shocked both Japanese pilots and the Americans there that day. What happend to the architect of this surprsied attack? The secret Amiercan super spy network and code breakers found that General Yamamoto was going to travel acrosss a certain part of the ocean. Well we did what the US military would probably be sued for today. Our Navy & Air Force coordinated a sneaky and simple plan. We surprised his plane and shot him out of the sky thus depriving Japan of one of its greatest tactical officers.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Sad for sure. I was the only one at work who knew it was Pearl Harbor Day. Haha I have to admit though the only reason I remember it is because my sister has a birthday today and so does my best friends dad so I have two birthdays to remember and remember the day for Pearl Harbor as well. RIP to everyone who lost their lives that day.

My Dad served in an Armored Division and he never let us forget what happened on certain days. I was born on his final military base before he got out. Fort Sill Oklahoma where Geranimo was captured and held for many years. D Day The SIxth of June 1944 also Pearl Harbor Dec 7th 1941. A few others I can no longer recall.

 

[reemoeMO]

There hasn't been a Pearl Harbor day since high school, 1989 or so, that has come and gone without reflecting on the horrific events of that day 80 years ago. I remember reading in the newspaper about the 50-year anniversary while in college. In 2001, I couldn't wait for the release of the Pearl Harbor film. I enjoy reading the stories of the survivors, and the fewer and fewer of them left that make the trip back for each Remembrance Day. I have visited the Memorial twice, such a somber, surreal experience. For me, the day really does live in infamy!

 

[Wolf359]

What happened to the architect of this surprise attack? The secret American super spy network and code breakers found that General Yamamoto was going to travel across a certain part of the ocean. Well we did what the US military would probably be sued for today. Our Navy & Air Force coordinated a sneaky and simple plan. We surprised his plane and shot him out of the sky thus depriving Japan of one of its greatest tactical officers.

It's an interesting read of what happened. They didn't want them to figure out that they had broken the code so they sent planes to patrol that area even though it was at the extreme end of their range. And Yamato being punctual was right there at the time he was supposed to on schedule. One of the reason many plots against Hitler failed was that he would show up early/late or no show, many missed by just a few minutes.

As for Yamamoto being that great, the whole attack somewhat backfired because the intention was not to beat the US, just beat them so that they sued for peace. Sorta like the Revolutionary war, the US didn't have to beat Britain, just made it not worth their while to continue. But the surprise attack which wasn't supposed to be made the US resolved to beat Japan no matter the cost.

 

[Dinoburner]

Neighbor across the road was there in the Army on that infamous day. He was stoic, never said much. Wish I`d asked him more about it. He`s been gone 5 years now.

 

[manicrodder]

My 2nd Dad was a marine and fought in Saipan. He said he was "A seagoing bellhop."

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I have read some stuff about Yamamoto that leads me to believe while he planned and excecuted the attack he was not really to keen on the whole idea of doing it. He thought it was a failure and a mistake (he totally missed sinking the Air Craft carriers) that he feared the most. His most famous quote that he was repremanded for "I fear that what we have done is to wake a very dangerous sleeping giant."

 

[oldhp]

Very sad that people don't remember that horrible day. That day started a string of events that shook the world.

 

[Wolf359]

Very sad that people don't remember that horrible day. That day started a string of events that shook the world.

Well if you have a world view, I'd really peg that as September 1st, 1939. Dec 7th just brought the US into it.