# 79 Years Ago



## Lewkat (Dec 7, 2020)

It is difficult for me to think that I was only 8 yrs. old on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  It seems like yesterday as I vividly recall exactly what I was doing at the time.  We'd just finished Sunday dinner and I was outside playing when my dad came out and told me to get into the house right away.  Of course, I wasn't going quietly and asked him why.  He told me that we were at war.  Now, this is the East Coast and I was aware of the war in Europe, so I looked around me and asked him where, as all was quiet on the home front.  When he told me about what had happened, I, naturally, had never heard of Pearl Harbor.  I couldn't understand why we would be at war since I thought Hawaii was a foreign country.  Well, daddy-o proceeded to open our atlas and gave me a geography lesson I'd never forget.  And, then Hitler declared war on us and the rest is history.  What a sad history it is too.  Such evil people, even among our allies.


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## hollydolly (Dec 7, 2020)

My mum was also only 8 years old Lois... very scary for you all as children. Of course this country had been at war for over 2 years by the time Pearl Harbour was bombed, and my mother had been evacuated from her orphanage in the city  to a farm in  the countryside, so she didn't see or hear much about the war by then


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## JustBonee (Dec 7, 2020)

It  is a very sobering place to visit.
You feel like you are at a funeral when you visit the site  ...  and  oil  bubbling to the surface to this very day.


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## Lewkat (Dec 7, 2020)




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## fmdog44 (Dec 8, 2020)

Togo was one of the world's worst monsters. More should be written about him as we all know about the other goons in history.


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## oldman (Dec 8, 2020)

Lewkat said:


> It is difficult for me to think that I was only 8 yrs. old on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  It seems like yesterday as I vividly recall exactly what I was doing at the time.  We'd just finished Sunday dinner and I was outside playing when my dad came out and told me to get into the house right away.  Of course, I wasn't going quietly and asked him why.  He told me that we were at war.  Now, this is the East Coast and I was aware of the war in Europe, so I looked around me and asked him where, as all was quiet on the home front.  When he told me about what had happened, I, naturally, had never heard of Pearl Harbor.  I couldn't understand why we would be at war since I thought Hawaii was a foreign country.  Well, daddy-o proceeded to open our atlas and gave me a geography lesson I'd never forget.  And, then Hitler declared war on us and the rest is history.  What a sad history it is too.  Such evil people, even among our allies.View attachment 137871


We have evil people among us even today. They’re called politicians.

If you have ever been to Pearl Harbor, you may have noticed an eerie calm. The whole area is almost like a sacred shrine. It’s also very beautiful out there.


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## Pecos (Dec 17, 2020)

The first time I was stationed in Hawaii (1966 to 1969), I worked down in the shipyard in the vicinity of the old hospital. Several of the old abandoned buildings including the hospital still had bullet holes from that battle. It gave me a very eerie feeling to see that every day. 

We stored a lot of our older equipment inside a huge old warehouse that was still functional. It was full of old equipment left over from WWII and before. It was dark and spooky in there, but I spent some time looking over some of that old stuff that had been pulled off various ships for decades. Most of it was electronic equipment that would never be used again and needed to be sent to salvage for the metal.  

All those old building had been torn down by the time I was stationed there again in 1981 to 1985.

In 1983, I was honored to give the Oath of Enlistment to my son on the USS Arizona. The mere sight of it is very sobering. My boss had a clear view of it from his window on the fourth floor of the Pacific Fleet Commander's Headquarters. When I went to morning meetings in his office, I always got there early so I could periodically get a glimpse of that ship.


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## Manatee (Jan 2, 2021)

I was 7 years old, my sister came in and said "the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor".  I vaguely knew who the Japs were, but had never heard of Pearl Harbor.


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## Pappy (Jan 3, 2021)

I was 4 years old and I can remember everyone being upset, but as far as knowing the reality of it all was over my young head. My father and uncles were leaving to go to war. I remember bits and pieces of this, but one thing I do recall was grandpa sitting by the big old radio listening to Roosevelt’s speech.


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## Lewkat (Jan 3, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> My mum was also only 8 years old Lois... very scary for you all as children. Of course this country had been at war for over 2 years by the time Pearl Harbour was bombed, and my mother had been evacuated from her orphanage in the city  to a farm in  the countryside, so she didn't see or hear much about the war by then


London was being blitzed to death by the Nazis at that time, Holly, but Churchill breathed a sigh of relief knowing we'd now be in it for sure.


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## hollydolly (Jan 3, 2021)

Lewkat said:


> London was being blitzed to death by the Nazis at that time, Holly, but Churchill breathed a sigh of relief knowing we'd now be in it for sure.


my mum wasn't in London Lois,  she was in Scotland growing up... ....  however hard the Germans hit London..or Coventry or Scotland (the most badly hit areas of the UK), it's been proven that the British hit them back twice as hard... German cities were razed to the ground.... I hope we never see the like of it ever in my lifetime


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## Lewkat (Jan 3, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> my mum wasn't in London Lois,  she was in Scotland growing up... ....  however hard the Germans hit London..or Coventry or Scotland (the most badly hit areas of the UK), it's been proven that the British hit them back twice as hard... German cities were razed to the ground.... I hope we never see the like of it ever in my lifetime


I have an entire library about WWII and how the UK took it and with the aid of some really smashingly good pilots from Poland, showed the RAF how to outwit the Luftwaffe with utter superiority in strategy, if not numbers.  Amazing.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 3, 2021)

Lewkat said:


> It is difficult for me to think that I was only 8 yrs. old on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  It seems like yesterday as I vividly recall exactly what I was doing at the time.  We'd just finished Sunday dinner and I was outside playing when my dad came out and told me to get into the house right away.  Of course, I wasn't going quietly and asked him why.  He told me that we were at war.  Now, this is the East Coast and I was aware of the war in Europe, so I looked around me and asked him where, as all was quiet on the home front.  When he told me about what had happened, I, naturally, had never heard of Pearl Harbor.  I couldn't understand why we would be at war since I thought Hawaii was a foreign country.  Well, daddy-o proceeded to open our atlas and gave me a geography lesson I'd never forget.  And, then Hitler declared war on us and the rest is history.  What a sad history it is too.  Such evil people, even among our allies.View attachment 137871


That was an interesting memory, Lewkat. And how lucky you were to have a Dad who took the time to explain it to you.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 3, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> My mum was also only 8 years old Lois... very scary for you all as children. Of course this country had been at war for over 2 years by the time Pearl Harbour was bombed, and my mother had been evacuated from her orphanage in the city  to a farm in  the countryside, so she didn't see or hear much about the war by then


Sad


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## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 3, 2021)

My Dad was a gunner in the army air core. It still makes mr cry to watch WW2 movies and imaging him sitting up in that little window


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## Lewkat (Jan 3, 2021)

Kathleen’s Place said:


> That was an interesting memory, Lewkat. And how lucky you were to have a Dad who took the time to explain it to you.


Yes, I was.  He drilled it into me that war was such a useless endeavor with men shooting each other every minute of the day for no other purpose than being shot themselves.  Humans are absolutely clueless as to how to settle differences in an intelligent manner.  Of course the nut cases cannot be dealt with reasonably.


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## FastTrax (Jan 3, 2021)

www.ussmissouri.org/#

www.pearlharbor.org

www.nps.gov/valr/index.htm

www.pearlharbortours.com/blog/pearl-harbor-attack/

www.visitpearlharbor.org

www.pearlharboraviationmuseum.org

www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/path-pearl-harbor

www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor

www.nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/justice-pearl-harbor-how-america-assassinated-admiral-yamamoto-87041

www.atomicheritage.org/history/attack-pearl-harbor-1941

www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Doctrines-The-hoover-stimson-doctrine.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arizona_Memorial

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arizona_(BB-39)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_W._Nimitz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoroku_yamamoto

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimson_Doctrine


























https://www.youtube.com/pearlharbornationalmemorial

www.dailymotion.com/video/x63s7go

www.dailymotion.com/video/x6q7bqv

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j4n0z


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## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 5, 2021)

I was watching Apocalypse World War II last night. The years before the US got into it were so beyond devastating.  If we think we have it bad right now with Covid, a few hours of watching this documentary will show how darn blessed we still are.


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## Sassycakes (Jan 8, 2021)

*Fortunately, I wasn't born yet, but I do remember my Dad talking about it when I was growing up. He didn't have to go into the service because where he was working at the time made equipment for the Armed forces. I do remember the Korean war because my older brother was drafted and I remember how worried my parents were at the time.*


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 10, 2021)

I hadn't been born yet but it's interesting reading the vivid descriptions here of what happened that day and scenes at Pearl Harbor afterward.


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## cdestroyer (Jan 11, 2021)

I wonder what you would say if you knew the full truth about the attack on pearl harbor and the beginnings of out involvement in wwii? Dare I post it here or will all of you think less of me???


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## RadishRose (Jan 11, 2021)

cdestroyer said:


> I wonder what you would say if you knew the full truth about the attack on pearl harbor and the beginnings of out involvement in wwii? Dare I post it here or will all of you think less of me???


Why would we?


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## fmdog44 (Jan 12, 2021)

O


cdestroyer said:


> I wonder what you would say if you knew the full truth about the attack on pearl harbor and the beginnings of out involvement in wwii? Dare I post it here or will all of you think less of me???


Oh spare us the theories about FDR and how he knew it was coming.


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## cdestroyer (Jan 13, 2021)

radishrose wrote "why would we"
well you see fmdog44 reply? that is why


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## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 13, 2021)

Feel free to share, cdestroyer. We share about everything on this forum and opinions are always interested whether we agree or not.


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 18, 2021)

cdestroyer said:


> I wonder what you would say if you knew the full truth about the attack on pearl harbor and the beginnings of out involvement in wwii? Dare I post it here or will all of you think less of me???





cdestroyer said:


> No one should ever think less of someone who tells the truth. But as the saying goes..."Truth hurts". Some do not have the courage to hear the truth and bear that pain.


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## cdestroyer (Jan 18, 2021)

fmdog44, I have a feeling you believe there is no truth behind the tonkin gulf incedent either!


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## FastTrax (Jan 18, 2021)

cdestroyer said:


> I wonder what you would say if you knew the full truth about the attack on pearl harbor and the beginnings of out involvement in wwii? Dare I post it here or will all of you think less of me???





cdestroyer said:


> radishrose wrote "why would we"
> well you see fmdog44 reply? that is why





cdestroyer said:


> fmdog44, I have a feeling you believe there is no truth behind the tonkin gulf incedent either!


 cdestroyer know this. 99% percent of decent appreciative people here as well as anywhere else that one can learn the truth from members of the armed service such as yourself who experienced the horror of battle unlike the misinformed and more so uninformed individuals that bleat hollow gestures they know nothing about. GOD Bless and thank you for your service that enables our world to sleep at night knowing you stay your course for a safer world.


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## cdestroyer (Jan 20, 2021)

I cannot post the truth here because it is political and will be deleted!!!!!


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