December 7, 1941, 84 years ago and time has weakened the memory of that day and left it to custom or tradition, both rely on the living. It has been written that history will always be written by the victorious and by the same token, custom and tradition is established, maintained, and preserved by the living. As a nation, we remember Pearl Harbor and it is enshrined as a national holiday of remembrance. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2403 US personnel. It included sailors, soldiers civilians and additionally 1178 people were wounded. There were 129 Japanese soldiers killed in the attack. As I remember history or the stories and accounts, I seem to remember that the aircraft carriers which were the main target for the Japanese to attack had all been put out to see and were not in the harbor at the time of the attack. It was a very successful attack and caught the United States completely flat footed, we lost a number of ships as well as people.

After the attack, one particular ship the Arizona was left, resting on the bottom with the deck just awash. In those days and weeks following that attack every effort was made to recover the bodies of the crew and the ship’s records. It finally came to a point where there was nothing else we could do and the further recovery of bodies became fruitless and the number of bodies that we estimate could not be recovered were at least 900 crew and they remained in the ship. There is a memorial there this day, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. It’s here that we honor the lives lost in the December 7, 1941 attack. It was a pivotal moment in history because it ushered in the United States entry into World War II. It impacted nations and communities worldwide. There were a lot of other things I was going to include in today’s Back Porch, but out of respect for those who died there I will not muddy the water, certainly may they rest in peace and  their families know that there are still those of us alive that thank them for their sacrifice and service.

Kurt