Seventy-seven years ago on this day, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii without warning, causing thousands of American casualties. This year the commemoration ceremony at the site will be different.
In past years, there were a few survivors from the USS Arizona present. This year, there are only five Arizona survivors, all in their late 90s, and none will be able to attend.
This is a picture I took of Pearl Harbor, where today the USS Missouri, the place where the Japanese surrendered, is berthed next to the sunken Arizona. On the day I took the picture, a beautiful rainbow arched over both ships.
Inside the sloping memorial constructed over the sunken Arizona, a listing of the service dead bears testimony to the incredible sacrifice of so many on that day.
This is a picture of me a year or so after the attack, next to the radio that announced that horror in our household, which was then in Tucson.
That same radio is still in the family. It has recently been transferred from my mother's home, and now sits in our living room, a mute reminder of the time when our nation rallied in righteous indignation to venture forth and utterly defeat the empire of Japan.
Today I fly the flag, and some will wonder why. It's an acknowledgement of the last measure of devotion given by so many of our people on that day. As long as I breathe, that flag will fly on December 7th. May God bless all who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our beloved country, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
John
In past years, there were a few survivors from the USS Arizona present. This year, there are only five Arizona survivors, all in their late 90s, and none will be able to attend.
This is a picture I took of Pearl Harbor, where today the USS Missouri, the place where the Japanese surrendered, is berthed next to the sunken Arizona. On the day I took the picture, a beautiful rainbow arched over both ships.
Inside the sloping memorial constructed over the sunken Arizona, a listing of the service dead bears testimony to the incredible sacrifice of so many on that day.
This is a picture of me a year or so after the attack, next to the radio that announced that horror in our household, which was then in Tucson.
That same radio is still in the family. It has recently been transferred from my mother's home, and now sits in our living room, a mute reminder of the time when our nation rallied in righteous indignation to venture forth and utterly defeat the empire of Japan.
Today I fly the flag, and some will wonder why. It's an acknowledgement of the last measure of devotion given by so many of our people on that day. As long as I breathe, that flag will fly on December 7th. May God bless all who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our beloved country, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
John
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