Tag Archives: USS Arizona

Pearl Harbor – 77 Years Later

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Courtesy of San Diego Air and Space Museum – Flickr Commons

On the morning of December 7, 1941 the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by 353 Aircraft from six aircraft carriers of the Japanese Navy. 

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Courtesy of San Diego Air and Space Museum – Flickr Commons

Eight American battleships were damaged, four of them sunk. All but the USS Arizona were raised and six returned to service. Three cruisers, three destroyers, and a couple of other ships were damaged or sunk as well and 188 aircraft destroyed. 

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Courtesy of San Diego Air and Space Museum – Flickr Commons

The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and five midget submarines. It was a huge success for the Imperial Navy except that there were no United States aircraft carriers in the harbor. You see, even then the big battleships although impressive were already outdated. From then on there were very few ship to ship battles, the major battles were carried out by aircraft from over the horizon.

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Courtesy of San Diego Air and Space Museum – Flickr Commons

The most devastating loss was the lives lost. 2403 American lives were lost and 1178 injured. The attack sent shockwaves through America. The Japanese intended the attack to ward off American interference in Japan’s imperialist plans for southeast Asia and of course it had just the opposite effect. America declared war and three and a half years later defeated Japan.

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Courtesy of San Diego Air and Space Museum – Flickr Commons

America has never done well it seems to me when we retreat inside ourselves and declare America First! When we retreat like that, other countries flex their muscles and move into the vacuum that we leave. 

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Several years ago I got to cross a major item off my bucket list when we visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.  It was an unexpectedly emotional place for me seeing the sunken ship underneath the memorial and realizing how many people had died there. Usually I am clicking away with my camera but I only took one or two shots on the Memorial, I put the camera away and tried to think about what happened.

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We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the sailors, marines, soldiers and others who died that day.  

Pearl Harbor Day

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Japanese naval aircraft prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier (reportedly Shokaku) to attack Pearl Harbor during the morning of 7 December 1941. Captured Japanese Photograph courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy on Flickr Commons, public domain

Seventy Five years ago 365 Japanese aircraft from six aircraft carriers attacked Pearl Harbor.

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A Japanese Navy “Zero” fighter (tail code A1-108) takes off from the aircraft carrier Akagi, on its way to attack Pearl Harbor. Courtesy of the National Archives on Flickr Commons

The Japanese damaged eight Battleships, sinking four, and sunk or damged numerous other ships, 188 landbased aircraft, and other facilties.

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Photograph from a Japanese aircraft of the attack on Peal Harbor. Courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy on Flickr Commons

2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded

Naval photograph documenting the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which initiated US participation in World War II. Navy's caption: The battleship USS ARIZONA sinking after being hit by Japanese air attack on Dec. 7,1941., 12/07/1941

USS Arizona after attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo courtesy of the US National Archives on Flickr Commons

The Japanese attack, along with numerous other attacks at other American facilities the same day, was meant to keep America from interfering with Japanese plans to dominate Asia.

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USS Shaw Exploding during the Pearl Harbor Attack. Courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina, on Flickr Commons

It didn’t work. All it did was make the United States to declare war on Japan.

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Courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina

Japan awoke the sleeping giant and made us mad. It took several years but we beat them.

Remember Pearl Harbor Day, 1941 - 1945

National Archives at College Park – Archives II (College Park, MD) on Flickr Commons

It is one of those events that wwe will never forget. We were caught unawares and paid the price. Nothing like it ever happened again until the radical Islamic cowards killed thousands of civilians in the US years later.

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So a couple years ago we got to visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

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Normally I take lots of photographs everywhere I go, but it didn’t seem right to do so when I was actually there. The place is so sacred and humbling. Time stands still.  It is actually a tomb for sailors whose bodies are still inside the ship.

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Across the way, is the USS Missouri. My brother Bob served on her during the 80’s when she re-entered service. I got to attend the rechristening in San Francisco. That was a highlight of my life.

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Our World – The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

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Pearl Harbor now is such a pretty place. It is very hard to imagine that anything evil could happen at this place. But it did, 74 years ago on December 7, 1941.

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Photograph, from a Japanese aircraft, of the harbor under attack.

When Japanese planes attacked the Pacific Fleet in a surprise attack.

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When the Navy launch approaches the USS Arizona Memorial everybody gets very quiet. It is more than a memorial. It is also a grave site.

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USS Arizona in the middle of the photo.

The Memorial is the final resting place for 1,102 Sailors and Marines who were killed when the USS Arizona sank during the attack.

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It is one of the most moving experiences I have ever had visiting the memorial. It had been on my bucket list a long time.

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Skywatch Friday – Stars and Stripes over the USS Arizona

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We just got back from our vacation to Hawaii last weekend. On our last day we ventured to Pearl Harbor and took the Navy launch over to the USS Arizona to pay our respects to not only the Sailors and Marines who died on the ship that day but to all who died for our country and their families.

It is a very somber and sobering experience visiting the Arizona. I’ll never forget it. It was such a pretty day when we visited and it was hard to imagine the death and destruction that came that day.

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