Pearl Harbor at Eighty

UPDATE: Eight decades later, the memory endures.

Despite Lend-Lease, America's first peacetime draft, and the sinking of the Reuben James, a majority of Americans were against entering the strife in Europe—again. Until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Four days later, Hitler declared war on the U.S., backing up his Japanese ally. And suddenly the United States found itself marinating in World War II. 

And for all the subsequent conflicts this country has known, the Second World War was the last one that saw Congress issue a formal declaration of war. 

Below are a few thoughts from the Silver Anniversary.

History

Before 9/11 There Was 12/07

I don't want to say "Happy Anniversary" because it wasn't a very happy day 75 years ago. Over 2,000 American servicemen and civilians died during Japan's surprise attack on our Pearl Harbor naval and air facilities. If I may wax historical, two things really saved the U.S.:

A. Our aircraft carriers were out at sea.

B. The Japanese didn't bomb the Navy's fuel tanks because the smoke would obscure their bombing and torpedo runs on our battleships. 

Without aircraft carriers, it's likely there would've been no Coral Sea and the Japanese would have successfully invaded southern New Guinea and cut off all supplies to Australia.

Minus Hawaiian Island fuel, American warships would've needed to top off back in the continental United States and the Pacific War might've drug on long enough to get my father killed, hence eliminating my Dec. 7 blog posts decades before they began. 

Here's a sample post from 2007:

"A day of infamy," said President Franklin Roosevelt about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. (On a documentary, a surviving sailor recalled his reaction less poetically: "Holy smokes! Those are Japs! This is the real McCoy!") Reams have been written about what FDR knew and when he knew it. As the United States had broken the Japanese diplomatic code, there was speculation that the president deliberately withheld knowledge of impending attack from the military so as to use the bombing as an excuse to enter World War II.


Also check out:

Time and Mrs. Murphy from 2008

Not Everyone Mourned from 2009.