A few minutes before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. Eighteen American naval vessels, including five battleships, and almost 200 airplanes were destroyed.
In 90 minutes, a total 2,403 Americans died in the attack, and another 1,178 were wounded.
I often think we live in a nation with too short of a national memory, thus today's blog post. We should never forget, and we should always value, those who gave their lives for our freedom. That day changed America. We entered a war which most Americans didn't want until after the attack. Additionally, Germany and Italy soon declared war upon us. And we found ourselves fighting again in a horrific conflict: World War Two.
There is a monument within sight of the USS Arizona Memorial which has written upon it the war-time prayer of America's First Lady at the time, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. It's a prayer she carried with her every day. It is a prayer which may help us to remember those who have sacrificed for us.
Dear Lord, Lest I continue
my complacent way
help me remember
somehow out there
a man died for me today.
As long as there be war
I then must ask and answer,
“Am I worth dying for?”
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