A date that will live in infamy…

Today is the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. There are few living veterans of that fateful day and even less that are capable of making that trip one more time. Having said that, there are reports that four of the five surviving USS ARIZONA vets will make it.

These are the images we remember/grew up with…

ph-radiogram

This is one that always strikes home- USS ARIZONA after she was hit…

Landscape

Photographer unknown

We always heard the stories about what the Sailors, Marines and Army troops did, but I had never heard anything about the other folks, like Nurses…

MOAA had a very nice article from a variety of nurses, HERE. Roll your cursor over the article title to go to that story.

One from Military.com HERE.

Another from DOD.live HERE.

And one more from San Diego Tribune HERE.

No nurses died at Pearl Harbor, but over 200 died during WWII in various areas. One nurse, LT Anne Fox was awarded the Bronze Star for her actions at Hickam Field during the attack. The National WWII museum has a good look at Women at War, HERE.

No nurse that I have ever known was a shrinking violet, but I cannot imagine the horrors these women and men saw, not only on Dec 7th, but throughout WWII. God bless them for their willingness to step up and do what needed to be done not only to treat, but to comfort the wounded.

Comments

A date that will live in infamy… — 24 Comments

  1. I was fortunate to speak with a Pearl Harbor survivor some years ago, we were going into a rest stop on the PA turnpike and I commented on his ballcap, (I think it was the Arizona) I wish now I had made time to talk with him more.
    I will make time to read the links.

  2. Unless you were there, you can’t imagine the hell it must have been. We have all heard the countless stories of that day, but that fails in comparison of what it must have been like..
    I can’t believe its been 75 years…..

  3. My wife’s father passed away Dec 22 last year. Joined the Navy at age 16 after Pearl Harbor. Served throughout the remainder of the war on a submarine tender. The Naval Honor Guard was the best part of his memorial service.

  4. Sitting in my reclining chair ruminating about the country that rose up after Pearl Harbor. The courage of those that went ashore at Normandy, Anzio, Guadalcanal, Tarawa. Those that endured at the battle of the bulge.
    Then the vision of today’s youth cowering in their “safe space” after seeing a name chalked on the sidewalk.
    God bless Trump for nominating Gen. Mattis to put more steel in the backbone of our military and remove political correctness from the uniformed ranks.

    • There were plenty of young men and women that answered the call after 9/11. I will always believe that if W. Bush had called the nation to war instead of telling everyone to act like nothing happened, a lot more would have volunteered.

  5. One of my childhood bff’s dad was on the Arizona. He wouldn’t talk about it. We, the boys of the hood, would try to get him to, but he would get mad and run us off. Another bff and still a good friend today, father was Army at Schofield Barracks. He spent WWII walking the beaches on guard duty. But got an earl out as Hawaii was considered overseas duty and he built up enough points. He wrote a small book about his days.

  6. Strangest thing I’ve seen was a Mitsubishi van with a Pearl Harbor Survivor license plate in Washington State years ago. Wish I could have talked to that man and heard his story. My late father, a CBI veteran, would not buy anything made in Japan.

    • a friend of mine was in on the tale end of the Philippine fight & then on to Japan for the occupation! He had the same feeling, just doesn’t buy anything made in Japan!!

  7. John- Heard that!

    JUGM- Yes it has, and is STILL in our corporate memory…

    Houston- For many veterans that is an important thing, even if they are gone. May he RIP!

    Roger/gfa- Agreed, I fear for the US going forward…

    CP/Randy- Many won’t talk… Some do, but you can tell those memories hurt.

    WSF- Neither would my cousin. He was a submarine MM1 and UDT. He refused to talk about the war, other than to say he was on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

  8. Shaking the hands of survivors outside the book shop at Pearl Harbor remains the best memories of visits there. And those heroes always thank me for remembering. I’ve never felt so humble and insignificant.

  9. I visited the Arizona Memorial when I was 8. I will never forget that haunted place. So beautiful and peaceful, so cold and horrible.

    At the time I was living on Kwajalein. Between the two, the horror of war was firmly cemented in my childish mind.

    I never forget this day. That memorial still haunts my dreams.

  10. Every time I go to Hawaii (to visit grandkids, no other reason is sufficient to make me get on a commercial flight) I go to the Arizona Memorial. Someday, I’ll get through the whole trip without tears.

  11. Andrew- Thank you.

    RS- Nope, won’t happen…

    LCB- Thanks, that looks like a good one to read.

  12. Uncle… on the West Virginia and went hand-over-hand on a line shot over from the Tennessee.
    Uncle… ankle broken during the crash of his glider at Normandy and left behind to spend the rest of the war as a POW.
    Father… veteran of New Guinea, New Britain, Leyte. Purple Heart recipient.
    You can imagine what my after Church Sunday dinners at Grandma’s were like.
    Nurses? Worked with ’em CLOSE for 26 years. They’re all ANGELS.

  13. Ok, need some Google-Fu help. Thought I had a link to a video, but I’ll be dipped if I can find it. Lots of photos at this link—

    http://www.west-point.org/class/usma1955/D/M/PH_5.htm

    The photo on the book cover is just a short scroll down. Part of the caption reads “The seaman in the foreground is Bob Barrigan, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma…”

    The video I’m looking for is an interview with him by a local TV station at his home (1970-ish?). In the video he says “Yeah, that’s me in the photo.” He had just climbed on shore after swimming the channel. If anybody can find a link to share, I’d be most grateful.

  14. Hopefully the memories of the last veterans are being captured. It’s likely we’re seeing the last of their years.

  15. GB- Thankfully yours talked… And yes, they are Angels! Grumpy, but angels!!! 🙂

    RHT- I looked and I can’t find anything either. Sorry.

    DB- Folks are working hard to do that.

  16. Thank you for the links. I found them very interesting.

    There is a museum in Muskegon MI with a submarine, and a coast guard boat, the sub is the Silversides, I can’t remember the name of the boat. There is an attached museum which on the second floor has a good size exhibit about nurses in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam.

    Interesting to see how medical care and nursing care has changed through the years. Also kind of fun to see the shock and horror of “no gloves”. Folks forget that before HIV/AIDs, no one used gloves, or not very often.

  17. Jackie and I went to Hawaii in September. A former Chief Naval Aviation Pilot was there, having been there 75 years ago as a PBY crewman.

    The gravel in his voice talking about watching his “boats” get blowed up and sunk and then the icey tone when he said “yeah, and then Bull Halsey chased them back to Yokohama and we did his Scouting” was something hard to put into words.

  18. Suz- You’re welcome. And yes, significant changes!!!

    SPE- Yep, I got to talk to two of those gents this year at our symposium… Special breed!