Category Archives: History

The Date Still Lives in Infamy

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Sunday, December 7, 1941. It’s been 75 years since that sunny Hawaii morning when the United States was attacked by the Empire of Japan’s naval and air forces, ushering America into the most devastating world conflict in history. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was audacious in its objective: Knock out the U.S. Pacific Fleet so that Japan can continue empire expansion without interference. (That’s the short version.)

Tactically the plan was brilliant, though the fuel tank farms and dry dock facilities were missed by the marauders. Both blunders cost Japan in the long run. The American aircraft carriers, which were at sea, also went unscathed. Strategically the plan was a disaster as it brought the United States into the war fully committed to defeating Japan, which it did in 1945 after dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

World War II fascinated me from a young age. The air raid on Pearl Harbor was the gateway to my interest in the conflict. I grew up wanting badly to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. I finally got there in 2004 and returned a couple times that decade. It is hallowed ground and a moving experience. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be the first Japanese leader to visit the site when he accompanies President Barack Obama later this month.

The Pearl Harbor attack killed 2,335 military personnel, plus 68 civilians. Most of the deaths were on the USS Arizona. The ship took a bomb early in the raid that ignited about one million pounds of powder in its forward magazines, killing 1,177 men. Nearby along Battleship Row, the USS Oklahoma lost 429 men after taking several torpedo hits and capsizing.

The 75th anniversary event schedule got underway last month and continues through this weekend. Ceremonies taking place on Wednesday include the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Commemoration at Kilo Pier, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in the morning and an observance at the USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island in the afternoon.

Of special note, there is a private interment service on the USS Arizona Memorial late Wednesday. John Anderson, Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class and Clarendon Hetrick, Seaman 1st Class will have their urns placed in the barbette of gun turret number four by National Park Service and Navy divers. There were 335 surviving crew members of the USS Arizona. This special service is performed for those who wish to join their shipmates’ final resting place. Anderson died at age 98. Hetrick, who died at 92, was the youngest remaining survivor. Only five surviving crew members are left.

Pause for a moment today to remember those who lost their lives during the Pearl Harbor attack and the millions who died in the greater conflict of World War II. Perhaps regular reflection will keep us from repeating the mistakes that led to widespread colossal bloodshed by otherwise civilized nations.

279-228: Stunned

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Normally I avoid writing about politics here. For that matter I don’t post much on social media about the topic either. Better to keep people guessing. This is an exception.

Today I posted an opinion piece on Facebook by Garrison Keillor regarding yesterday’s election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. An old friend of mine took issue with the article and its pessimism of a Trump administration. We agreed to disagree, but it got me thinking about my own deep misgivings of what is to come. I’m treading lightly because I have other friends, colleagues and even family members who voted for this man.

The Trump campaign was the most cynical and pessimistic I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. It was that way through the primaries and the general election. It was gutter level degrading to so many that I found the cognitive dissonance required by some to vote for him astounding. The fact that a large number of Christians were willing and able to support him was the most puzzling to me considering his character is antithetical to Christian values. That is not to say all Christians voted in his favor. Plenty of us saw Trump for who and what he is.

Sadly, there are a large number of people who, like my friend, think the country is swirling in a toilet. I don’t share the feeling, but Trump’s message obviously resonated with voters who believe this strongly. As Keillor points out change is coming. To paraphrase Tom Brokaw from last night, voters have pulled the pin on a grenade and rolled it across the country. But no one who listened to Trump during the endless campaign season can really be surprised if the change that’s coming hurts those who are already suffering the most.

Hillary Clinton in office would have been a bumpy ride. She was a flawed candidate but very smart and very qualified. For whatever reason — frustration with the entire system, apparently — America decided that someone with no civic experience whatsoever should lead the country. It’s a bit odd to me that the party decrying Barack Obama’s lack of experience in 2008 would elect someone with even less, but it is what it is. That said, based on Trump’s rhetoric, this scenario is most terrifying from a foreign policy perspective where presidents have a much freer hand than they do domestically.

On a personal note, particularly as the father of a young daughter, I find Trump abhorrent. Fortunately my little girl is too young to understand or care how a man who openly bragged about sexual assault during the campaign was voted leader of the free world. My hope is that I don’t have to explain it four years from now.

An honest question to Trump supporters: What if the major change you’ve voted for makes things worse for the country and you? What if this was one big shell game where you were conned? What if, in Trump’s words, it’s a total disaster? What then?

The country is built to endure bad presidencies. What it can’t withstand is the disappearance of the middle class, which has been shrinking since the Reagan administration. In 1992 I was in a college class where we talked about these kinds of issues. One of my classmates was fearful, if not adamant, that another revolution was coming. It seemed a bit alarmist if not outright silly at the time, but it’s a discussion I’ve remembered through the years. Today I’m not so sure she was wrong, except on the timing. Frightening thought, yes?

There is some good news for those dismayed by last night’s result. There is palpable anger but no mandate here. Clinton won the popular vote. Neither candidate had a majority, but this can’t be overlooked. The much-maligned electoral college did exactly what it was supposed to do, but even here the result was close: 279 to 228. (Side note: This is only 507 of the total 538 electoral votes. Some races still haven’t been called at the time of this post, but the overall outcome isn’t in doubt.) Trump may be an agent of change, but there is a large and vocal contingent that can’t stand him.

Accept the result of the election. It’s over. Protest if you must, but remember there will be another election. Those of us who refuse to share Trump’s cynical view of America must fight against it. Act locally. Do our part to make the space we live in better for those around us. In 2020 fight to make sure someone like this doesn’t get into the Oval Office again. My daughter will be counting on us.

Pearl Harbor 2012

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Hickam, Wheeler, Bellows, Schofield, Pearl, Ford Island, Utah, Oklahoma…Arizona. Airfields, bases and ships that ring out from a sunny Hawaii weekend morning 71 years ago — the day the United States entered World War II. It’s December 7, 2012. National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

So much has been written about America’s “day of infamy” when the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a devastating surprise attack on military installations on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Most casualties were on the USS Arizona, which took a bomb that set off its forward magazines — about one million pounds of powder — snuffing out the lives of 1,177 men. The USS Oklahoma, which capsized after taking several torpedo hits, also received a large number of casualties — 429 dead. Though brilliant from a tactical standpoint, strategically the attack was a disaster for the Japanese in the long view. It brought the United States, angry and fully committed, into a war that until then it hadn’t wanted to fight.

The story of Pearl Harbor has fascinated me since I was a child — heady stuff for a grade school kid. Visiting was on my bucket list, and I finally made it there in 2004, with return trips in 2007 and 2009. It was a moving experience each time:


While it was 71 years ago, it’s important that we remember these men — boys, really — and the sacrifices they made on that terrible day. If you’re ever in Hawaii, make a point to visit the Memorial. It’s a sobering experience and very much worth your time. It’s not a tourist attraction; it’s hallowed ground.

*The starting video was posted on YouTube by a visitor who shot part of the film that is shown prior to taking the shuttle to the Memorial. I have embedded it from YouTube.