I opened an email from Don Young a few minutes ago, subject line "December 7, Do you remember..." which I assumed was going to be about today being the day in 1941 when Japan sneak attacked America at Pearl Harbor.But DY's email was not about Pearl Harbor and that particular day of infamy, which seems to have faded in its level of infamy judging by how little note seems to being made in the various media I've looked at today, such as CNN online, which does have an article making note of the fact that tomorrow is the 29th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. Seems sort of shocking that that was that long ago.
Is there anyone reading this who was alive and paying attention on December 7, 1941? How does the shock of that day compare with the shock of September 11, 2001? There would have been no live television coverage from Pearl Harbor on 12/7, like what happened on 9/11. But I believe the nation was glued to their radio way back in 1941.
I suppose Americans were already in a bit of state of shock on 12/7 due to all the nasty stuff the Nazis had been doing in Europe for a couple years.
Speaking of those nasty Nazis. Nazi's are sort of what Don Young's Pearl Harbor Day email was about. I think I'll share that in another blogging.
You know, this is one of those things that I wish I had asked my parents: how did you hear about it, what went through your mind, etc. When I was growing up, they often made references to "during the war," but it was usually in terms of what Mother was doing back home, or some anecdote from my dad's stint on Kodiak Island with the Navy. Now it's too late...my dad passed away 3 years and 2 days ago and my mother's language is so impaired after her stroke that, though she no doubt remembers Pearl Harbor well, she cannot express herself well enough to tell me about it. I wish I had asked them more questions about the monumental events they lived through...I wish I had listened more.
ReplyDeleteGalen----Don't beat yourself up too much over not asking questions. The parental units might not have remembered much. My dad was 15 when the War ended, mom 12. Neither had much to say about their WWII memories or Pearl Harbor when I asked them years ago. I remember asking about the McCarthy hearings and the Red Scare. They remembered nothing. They were a little better about the Korean War. My dad served in Europe during that. I don't think I've ever asked them what they thought when they first heard of the atom bomb and Hiroshima. I saw recently on the History Channel that people had trouble wrapping their brains around that new weapon. My mom and dad likely didn't pay a whole lot of attention. They got married on the 6 Anniversary of the Hiroshima A-bombing. Makes it easy to remember their anniversary.
ReplyDelete