73 years ago today...

When I was stationed in Hawaii, I'd always visit Pearl Harbor on this day, and I'd wear my uniform. On one visit, three Japanese men came up to me and requested a picture. We couldn't understand each other, but it was obvious what they wanted. So I took a picture with them with the memorial in the background. I think that's ironic.



On another occasion, I had my picture taken with a couple of Pearl Harbor attack survivors. It was awesome and humbling.

 

A third man influenced by the ministry of Fuchida and DeShazar was Joe Morgan

 

That is amazing.

 

The commander, Yamamoto, did not favor the attack nor fighting either Europeans or Americans ... especially the Americans. He correctly foresaw that the industrial might of the US would bring about a crushing defeat of Japan.

His famous quote says it all:

The movie, Tora, Tora, Tora is a good film.

 

....and so America FINALLY entered the war. That said the Japanese did Australia, Asia and the Pasifika a great service, because the USA surely saved our collective bacon!

 

Here's a piece I wrote a year or so back about the attack on Hiroshima, a direct aftermath of Pearl Harbor, albeit four years later.

This is from my personal blog. Please forgive any grammatical errors. I rarely proofread for the blog.

Just wanted to share that as part of this discussion. I always liked studying World War II in school. The political and military machinations were unlike anything ever seen.