Today is December 7th, the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

I am proud to be an American. And I will remember those who I owe my freedom to.

Thank you MM.

A survivor of the Arizona spoke briefly here in St. Paul today. The awful details of that day must have been forever etched into his mind. It's important to remember "The Day of Infamy" and the sacrifices of WWII vets and all vets.

Ralph

My uncle was at Hickam Field.... He wouldn't talk much about it, but he passed away in 2000 and i have his Medals and his Prayer Book.

Very cool to look at the history and understand first hand what they went through and sacrificed for all of our freedoms.

I cannot imagine what they went through the day their world was forever changed.

To those brave Sailors, Soldiers, Air Corp men, and Marines...a salute. God bless you all.

I had the opportunity to visit Oahu this summer with my family. One of the things I was very interested in while I was there were the events that took place before, during, and after December 7th. It was an eerie feeling to look up and imagine the Japanese flying overhead on their way to their targets but it was especially somber when visiting the visitors center looking out over the harbor at the Arizona memorial and trying to visualize the carnage and destruction that took place that day.
I also experienced other feelings that I don't know quite how to put words to... standing there with my family... thinking of the Americans and the Japanese at war... You see my mother in law was 100% Japanese making my wife 1/2 and both my boys 1/4.

It wasn't the Japanesse who were bad people, just as it wasn't the Germans who were our enemies. It was some of their leaders, and their ideals we were fighting against. I am 99% German. The rest is Russian, and who knows what else. I wonder what my father thought about being a German in America, and the rest of his family was still in Germany? He even had a brother who was drafted into the Nazi Army and fought in France. Talk about mixed emotions.

Quote:It wasn't the Japanesse who were bad people, just as it wasn't the Germans who were our enemies. It was some of their leaders, and their ideals we were fighting against. I am 99% German. The rest is Russian, and who knows what else. I wonder what my father thought about being a German in America, and the rest of his family was still in Germany? He even had a brother who was drafted into the Nazi Army and fought in France. Talk about mixed emotions.

I think this quote from one of my favorite series of books (and movies) fits your thoughts.

"The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he comes from, and if he really was evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home, and would he not rather have stayed there... in peace? War will make corpses of us all." - Faramir, Captain of Gondor - Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien.

The German leaders were not guards in the concentration camps. Kristallnacht was in 1938. The German people knew exactly what Hitler was.
The Japanese leaders were not guards on the Bataan death march nor on the Burma Railway. There are thousands of examples of the evil deeds the people did.
Don't try to rewrite history.

I think we can agree that a large percentage of nationalistic and anti-semitic German civilians were complicit in the rise of the Nazi party and its subsequent horrors. Similarly a large percentage of nationalistic and xenophobic Japanese civilians were socialized to worship their Emperor and obligingly followed his military advisers into aggressive warfare and atrocities. I think we can also agree that a large percentage of the people's of both nations were human beings probably more interested in living their lives and loving their families until their authoritarian governments pressed them into conflict with other nations or against other peoples within their own land. While I am horrified and frightened by the way masses of ordinary people embraced the systematic persecution and murder of other members of their society, I am heartened and encouraged by the stories of German families who risked all to hide Jews in their homes or who dared conspire in anti-Nazi resistance groups. Police states make dissent a matter of life and death. I can only hope that in a similar situation my humanity would overcome my fear and let me be courageous enough to not be another deadly cog in the nation's machine.

These are complex matters and the comments of both Tetters and poliss reflect the truth of them.

Ralph

I could comment on the comments my father made when talking about Hitler,(he seldom did,) but I really don't think anyone here would be interested. And some may even find it objectionable. I will add however, a phrase my father used frequently, "Were you there, Charlie?"
"Charlie" not being any particular person.
You may pm me for further discussion, if anyone would like to.