A DATE THAT SHALL LIVE IN INFAMY: A REFLECTION ON PEARL HARBOR, DECEMBER 7, 1941

A recent graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Ensign John Landreth had specifically requested a commission on the U.S.S. Nevada due to its fame as "a great ship for wrestling."  Landreth had been a wrestler at the Academy, so this ship was a perfect fit for him...

All that past summer and autumn, Landreth and the other members of the crew held wrestling tournaments on board the ship in the spirit of friendly competition, as well as to keep fit and blow off steam.  There was much to cause anxiety.  Most Americans, whether they liked to admit it or not, realized that war with Japan was inevitable at this point.  Tensions were very high, and "talks" seemed to be going nowhere; neither side was willing to budge on any terms.  So, wrestling became as much a part of Landreth's official duties on the ship as anything else, to keep all the sailors focused and in shape mentally and physically, as he became their unofficial "coach."

Landreth was the eighth junior officer in the Sixth Division of the anti-aircraft unit aboard the Nevada on the morning of December 7, 1941.  He had  awakened early, and was on his way to breakfast when an alarm sounded..."I remember thinking, what a low blow, having a fire drill on Sunday morning."  It never occurred to John that it could be the real thing.  The Nevada had conducted numerous drills the weeks leading to December 7.  "As I half-heartedly loped up the hatch to the main deck, machine gun fire assaulted the deck."  He quickly rushed to his post at the anti-aircraft guns.  It was then that Landreth caught his first, unforgettable glimpse of the horror that surrounded him:  The U.S.S. Oklahoma had been capsized, and the U.S.S. Arizona exploded directly in front of him in a bright display of flames, smoke, and twisted metal that flew like rockets in every direction.

There was no time to even process the turmoil and carnage.  Japanese dive bombers began to descend on the Nevada at that moment.

Commander Robertson, the leader of the Nevada, shouted his orders above the fray: "All ammunition boxes must remain completely filled and guns in the ready position!"  He sensed the imminent attack.  Although against Navy regulations, this order allowed Landreth and the other gunners to return fire faster than any other ship on the island.  While the dive bombers began to swarm,  they dropped their bombs with little accuracy.  Landreth, himself, survived these close encounters as two bombs missed the Nevada.  "The third one landed just eleven inches away from me," he recalls.

On board the U.S.S. West Virginia, Ensign Archie Parmalee Kelley, who was an assistant damage control officer on the lowest deck, heard
calls of "Away, fire and rescue party" as bombs burst on Ford Island.  At first, Kelley and his shipmates viewed the call with skepticism.  But when a second call came immediately following saying, "General Quarters.  Man your battle stations!  This is no shit!"  they knew it was for real.  Kelley explains, "This use of language was necessary as the call to man battle stations occurred all throughout the summer to initiate drill sessions.  They needed us to know beyond any doubt that this was no drill!"  Kelley rose quickly and rushed to his station.  His job was to close all watertight doors to prevent further flooding in the ship.  The West Virginia received seven torpedoes and three bombs, but did not sink that day due to Kelley's quick decision making.  As soon as he reached his post, he discovered the compartment on the opposite side was flooding rapidly.

 "As I closed the watertight seal, I caught a quick glimpse of four men entering the compartment on the other side.  My heart sank."  The men desperately tried to reopen the watertight door.  Horrified, Kelley looked up at his commanding officer with the unspoken question.  Commander Harper slowly shook his head:  "No."  The order was clear.  They heard the torturous sounds of the men screaming as they frantically fought for their last breaths of life.  Though correct, and effectively saving the lives of forty men at the cost of four, Kelley's decision and the commanding officer's order had been a bloodcurdling one that would forever change Archie Kelley.   Life would never be the same.

Across the ocean, back to the mainland, Midwest, in the dairy farming community that formed the outskirts of small town Brookings, South Dakota, young Dwight Sloat peddled as fast as he could on his squeaky, old, red Schwinn.  He had just heard the announcement on the radio that had interrupted the usual music broadcast that played on Sunday afternoon.  His father, brother, and he had come home from church and sat down to a meager lunch of canned tomatoes, milk, bread and butter.  Times were very tough for his family, but he knew there were several farms beyond his own that did not even have a radio and would not have any way of hearing the news.  He stood up, pedaling faster up the hills, his heart pounding fiercely against his chest from exertion and the adrenaline of pure fight or flight.  The war was here.  There was absolutely no doubt that President Roosevelt would get his declaration from Congress now.

Dwight's older brother, Clayton, and his friends had talked about enlisting if and when America went to war.  Would his brother have to go away and face a fiery death like the men on the ships of Pearl Harbor?  Would the Japanese come to the mainland?  Would bombs fill the skies...even way out here above South Dakota?  What would this mean?  What would life be like now?  Dwight shook away his swarm of frightening, unwanted thoughts.  Right now, he had his own mission:  He just had to make sure and tell everyone the news...

There were no "safe zones" in Pearl Harbor that morning of December 7, 1941.  That day, 2,403

of America's sons were killed along with 1,178 wounded.  America lost two battleships while six were severely damaged.  The Navy and Army Air Corps lost a total of 169 planes with another 159 damaged.  The attack had come as a complete and total surprise that Sunday morning; the code which signaled the attack ("Tora, Tora, Tora") led to two waves of air assaults which lasted just an hour and fifteen minutes.  While at the time, this seemed like a total and complete disaster for the U.S. Navy, it was, as it turned out, quite the opposite.  In actuality, it was the greatest mistake the Japanese Imperial Army and Naval forces ever made. As the surviving Japanese pilots returned to the "Banzai" cheers of their compatriots later that morning, the architect of the attack, the American educated Admiral Isoruoku Yamamoto, was speechless.  While grave damage had certainly been done to the battleships, none of the carriers had been sunk that day.  It was at that moment, that Yamamoto uttered the immortal and, as it turned out, prophetic words:  "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

We would be hard pressed to find a better illustration of perseverance, determination, and commitment than Pearl Harbor.  America lost so much on that day, that is for sure.  December 7, 1941 was a day of national grieving, anger, confusion, weeping, pain, and bitterness.  But America gained a great deal more than she realized.  America learned who she was as a people and a country, and, united, she would discover a strength she didn't realize she had.  Americans would take a stand not only for their own freedoms but for those of other nations and people--strangers suffering on other shores, far away...

The only thing certain about the future is its uncertainty.  The lessons learned from Pearl Harbor, and its aftermath, are priceless.  They include, really, volumes upon volumes of accounts from ordinary people who answered a call in a dark time to become extraordinary.  I hope that you will take some time this week to reflect on this day in our history.  I hope you will take time to honor the great sacrifices of so many great men and women.  I hope you will take time and remember that day that shall truly live in infamy...

Never let it be forgotten.

Click on the links here...

 1.  Watch a very well researched and recreated reenaction of Pearl Harbor's attack on December 7 from the movie, Pearl Harbor.  While the movie, itself does not have much rooting in history, the attack was very respectfully researched and recreated at great expense for the big screen.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv1niwxQgoY

2.  Then, listen to the actual radio announcement to see what it was like for families in America like Dwight's (my dad's).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_f9A3fwn6w

3. Finally, watch the complete recording of  F.D.R's speech to Congress the next day.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK8gYGg0dkE

Then, write your own reflection on Pearl Harbor.  What have you learned and come to appreciate?

(Sources:  "Reflections of Pearl Harbor," by Anthony Isola; "First Hand Accounts of December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor, by William Brown; A personal conversation with my father, Dwight Sloat)