Pearl Harbor Still Holds Lessons for Americans(Congress Authorizes $38M Preserve Detention Camps)

Sixty-five years ago today, on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, dealing a devastating blow to the U.S. Pacific Fleet and spurring the United States to enter the war and save the world. More than 20 American ships were sunk, beached or damaged in the surprise attack, and more than 300 aircraft destroyed or damaged. Thousands of Americans died or were wounded.

Americans this week are commemorating the anniversary in a variety of ways. Included is a Pearl Harbor Survivors National Reunion being held in Honolulu. Such events are held so that younger generations don't forget the day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt rightly said would "live in infamy."

The nation's heroic effort in World War II holds a special significance now. Americans abroad are engaged in a conflict brought on by a heinous attack on American soil.

As the Iraq war stretches on, rivaling the length of our commitment to the allied effort 65 years ago, the nation mourns its war dead as the heroes they are. But this war has a different flavor at home. Many Americans are skeptical of its purpose. Also, while civilians at home were called upon to sacrifice in World War II, little has been asked of American citizens not in uniform. Instead of rationing, they've had tax cuts. The World War II era wasn't idyllic by any means. It's important to remember that the bombing of Pearl Harbor set off a dark episode in our history: the forced detention of Japanese American citizens during the war. Fortunately, legislation that Congress passed this week should help Americans to learn from that time so it is not repeated. Congress has authorized up to $38 million in federal grants to preserve the detention camps and gathering centers where an estimated 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans were sent.

But even as we acknowledge our mistakes, Americans should remember our success. The Greatest Generation took on the mission of turning back fascism and imperialism with a lump in its collective throat, but also with little complaint.

Sept. 11, 2001, gives this generation a sense of what it must have felt like 65 years ago. As we move forward, haltingly and troubled by our mistakes, we shouldn't forget that winning the war on terror is a historic mission as well.

Reader comments:
Dick of Freeport, ME
Dec 7, 2006 8:58 AM

"Yes, there are many lessons from WWII in the Pacific that apply to today's struggle with terrorists. The Japanese were similarly fanatic and brutal in their tactics, employed suicide bombers, and seemed to have no fear of death as they threw themselves at our guns and bayonets causing casualties in the numbers that would cause the stoutest liberal today to quail and shout for total surrender to the Emperor. Their fanaticism justified the detention of Japanese in America regardless the history revisionists' claims to the contrary."

"We found that merely killing Japanese in droves brought us no closer to defeating their will, but destroying their Emperor and their homeland brought them to their knees just as the massive bombing of German cities was the only way to defeat them, but how does that apply to today's fight against a country-less horde of Islamic terrorists fighting within and without the confines of America's border?"

"Today's terrorists get their strength from visions of an afterlife, strong family ties, and the Imams of their mosques urging their religious ferver to take on murderous intention. Israel had the right idea by bulldozing the family homes of suicide bombers, which is why there was such a hue and cry from terrorists and American liberals. That practice must be employed again, as well as punishing countries that harbor terrorists, or do not cooperate. The punishment should be the seizing of their oil. Let's make it hurt. We must also destroy the Imams who preach suicide and death. It is better to assassinate them now then to deal with their evil progeny later. Finally, we must screw with their afterlife. The remains of killed terrorists and suicide bombers can be scraped-up and sewn inside a pig's carcass and buried in hog manure. That will make them think twice."

"Yes, this all sounds absurdly horrific, but in a war for survival, which we may be in right now without realizing it, the harsh lessons of the past guide us."

Greg Smith of Wilmington, DE
Dec 7, 2006 7:38 AM

"I believe that linking Pearl Harbor and 9/11 is appropriate not merely because of the points made within the editorial, but because in both cases, our Government allowed the acts to happen. Moreover, in the case of 9/11 there is considerable evidence to suggest that our Government was actually behind the events of the day. It took years for Americans to learn the truth about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's motives for allowing the Japanese to attack the US and it will likely take years before we know the real truth: i.e. why the Bush Administration permitted or indeed perpetrated the events of 9/11."

I believe that there is a big difference in how we responded to Pearl and how we responded to 9/11 and Iraq. After Pearl, we went after the invaders....balls to the wall. In Iraq, we piece meal it. We either need to get out or send in 300-500,000 troups and get it over with. My concern with this is, do we have the troups to do this? If not, get out.

During WWII, we all sacrificed. High taxes, rationing, etc. Today, our people want to win but don't want to sacrifice to get there. We will have a rude awakening someday when we will have to go "balls to the wall" in a super major conflict. It's just a matter of time now. Our politicians are more concerned in getting re-elected than protecting this country.

Sacrifice:

"You know, a while back -- awhile back I met a young man named Shamus in a V.F.W. Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid -- six two, six three, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he’d joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week. And as I listened to him explain why he’d enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might ever hope for in a child."

"But then I asked myself, "Are we serving Shamus as well as he is serving us?"-Barack Obama

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.