on december 7, 1941 the course of united states history changed forever. in the early hours of the morning, the air force base at pearl harbour was attacked by the japanese. the raid officially forced america into the already waging second world war. until september 11, 2001 it was the single, deadliest attack on american soil.
on december 8, 1941 President Roosevelt gave a now famous speech that began with the words "yesterday, december 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the united states was suddenly and deliberately attacked...." thirty three minutes after he finished his speech, the united states declared war on japan.
today is the anniversary of that horrific day in our history. its not a national holiday, or even a widely recognized memorial day. and veterans day has come and gone. but those courageous men and woman who fought so bravely to defend our soil that day deserved to be honoured. us, of the younger generation, need to stay abreast of crucial times in our history so as the survivours slowly pass on, their memory is not lost forever.
let us take a moment to remember that fateful day 68 years ago. and to remember the courage and bravery of our service men and woman. some veterans feel that as their numbers decrease, so does the nations awareness and understanding of pearl harbour. and whilst none of us can truly understand what it was like that day, let us be the ones to show our veterans that we have not forgotten them.
so today, december 7, 2009 let us remember and honour our world war II veterans, both those who are still with us, and those whose memories will live forever.
5 comments:
This was great! Today isn't a national memorial day?? I noticed that all of the flags are at half-staff and that's how I remembered what day it was. Thanks for sharing this!
hey katie. so i doubled checked and its a national day of rememberence for pearl harbour. so i stand corrected. thanks for pointing that out. i am glad for the reminder that the flags fly at half mast. a good reminder for everyone.
Someone here told me it was National Cotton Candy Day. I responded that more importantally it was December 7th; the anniversary of Pearl Harbour. Thanks for the post and your recognition of these men and women. May we never forget.
Great post.
So good to see you on Sunday - so many things I wanted to hear more about - like the quick comment about the "in-between" that you're in - here but not here, etc...
will you have time for coffee sometime whilst (for you!) you're here?
OK - Eleri is so beautiful - even more so in person than photos - and she is DARLING in pictures!
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