December 7, 1941 - Lest We Forget

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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,074
Maryland
postimg.cc
A solemn day. We have our flags (restaurants) at half-mast. I wonder how many others I'll see that way today.

No mention of the event on my local papers front page. That makes me sad.

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,223
5,343
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
In memory of all who perished on that day let us recall the words of The Navy Hymn:
Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who biddest the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!
O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard

And hushed their raging at Thy Word,

Who walked on the foaming deep,

And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!
Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood

Upon the chaos dark and rude,

And bid its angry tumult cease,

And give, for wild confusion, peace;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!
O Trinity of love and power!

Our family shield in danger’s hour;

From rock and tempest, fire and foe,

Protect us wheresoever we go;

Thus evermore shall rise to Thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
Amen.

 

tbradsim1

Lifer
Jan 14, 2012
9,093
11,011
Southwest Louisiana
Can't strike my Flag, it flew over the Arizona for a day, down pour so I put it on mantle folded and lit a candle for them. This Country has gone to Hell in a Handbasket. : :crying:

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,994
26,610
New York
My Father refused till his dying day to buy any product made in Japan or produced by a Japanese company. If anyone decried the use of the A-Bomb on the Japanese he would remark that those two bombs saved his life since if they hadn't of surrendered he and his men would have been moved from Germany to prepare for the invasion of the Japanese home islands.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
That was a cruel day for sailors in port at Honolulu. I don't even like to think of it, the harbor surface covered with burning oil. Not much good happened. However, strategically, one underlying victory for the U.S. was that the aircraft carriers the Japanese wanted to sink were elsewhere in port or dry dock, and this came back to haunt the Japanese in the Battle of Midway that ended their naval offensive for the rest of the war. It looks like shear luck. Some of those old U.S. admirals were crafty devils and may have quietly moved all the carriers "for other reasons." It wouldn't surprise me if it were done with forethought. Trouble was in the air, so to speak. U.S.N. won the Battle of Midway with out-moded planes through cagey playing of the patterns of launches from the Japanese carriers.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Hell in a Handbasket
Not in my neck of the woods! There's a large, joint base here and those kids look determined and hard, volunteers all, a large percentage combat hardened. I believe we are in much better shape now than the military was December 7, 1941.
Same kids, bless their patriotic hearts and minds, different faces is all. And, bless them all!

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,223
5,343
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
"...one underlying victory for the U.S. was that the aircraft carriers the Japanese wanted to sink were elsewhere..."
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor there were only three aircraft carriers in the entire Pacific Fleet: the USS Lexington (CV-2), the USS Saratoga (CV-3), and the USS Enterprise (CV-6). On December 5, 1941 Admiral Kimmel (CinCPAC) ordered Task Force 12 comprised of the Lexington plus eight other ships to depart from Pearl Harbor in order to deliver airplanes to be used in the defense of Midway Island. The Enterprise, together with 12 other ships (Task Force 8), had departed Pearl Harbor on November 28, 1941 to deliver airplanes to Wake Island, and returned on December 7th in time to have some of its own airplanes enter the battle. On December 7th the Saratoga was in the vicinity of San Diego, California after having been dry-docked at Bremerton, Washington.
The USS Lexington was sunk on May 9, 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
The USS Saratoga survived the war, and was sunk during an atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll on July 25, 1946.
The USS Enterprise also survived the war, and was stricken from the Naval Register on October 2, 1956. She was sold for scrap in July of 1958.

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,223
5,343
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
To help put the materiel losses into perspective here is a summary (excerpted from the www.pearlharbor.org Website) of the United States' ships and aircraft damaged during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:
Battleships:

USS Arizona (BB-39) - sunk, total loss, lies at bottom of Pearl Harbor

USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - capsized, total loss

USS West Virginia (BB-48) - sunk, later raised, repaired and rejoined fleet July 1944

USS California (BB-44) - sunk, later raised, repaired and rejoined fleet May 1944

USS Nevada (BB-36) - heavily damaged, grounded, repaired and rejoined fleet December 1942

USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) was in drydock - slightly damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet August 1942

USS Maryland (BB-46) - damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet February 1942

USS Tennessee (BB-43) - damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet March 1942.
Cruisers:

USS Helena (CL-50) - heavily damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet June 1942

USS Honolulu (CL-48) - damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet January 1942

USS Raleigh (CL-7) - heavily damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet July 1942
Destroyers:

USS Cassin (DD-372) - was in drydock - heavily damaged, rebuilt and rejoined fleet February 1944

USS Downes (DD-375) - was in drydock - heavily damaged rebuilt and rejoined fleet November 1943

USS Helm (DD-388) - damaged, continued on patrol, repaired and rejoined fleet January 1942

USS Shaw (DD-373) - in floating drydock - severely damaged and repaired
Minelayers:

USS Oglala (CM-4) - sunk, raised, repaired and rejoined fleet February 1944
Auxiliaries:

Seaplane Tender - USS Curtiss (AV-4) - damaged, repaired and rejoined fleet January 1942

Harbor Tug - USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - with Shaw - sunk, raised, repaired and rejoined fleet August 1942

USS Utah (AG-16) - capsized, on bottom of Pearl Harbor

Vestal - heavily damaged, beached, refloated, repaired and rejoined fleet February 1942

YFD-2 - sunk, raised, refloated, repaired and rejoined fleet May 1942
Aircraft:

U.S. Navy - 92 lost, 31 damaged.

U.S. Army - 77 lost, 128 damaged.

 

chilipalmer

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 24, 2017
219
342
Like Condorlover, my father refused to buy Japanese or have anything to do with them after the war. He entered the United States Army in late 1943, went to England, and swam ashore in France on June 6, 1944. He fought through the war and ended up in Germany when the shooting stopped. He saw a lot and lost many friends, but, he never harbored any hatred for the Germans. The Japanese were another matter entirely.
In other news, other notable events happening on 7 December:
1776 - The Marquis de Lafayette received his commission as Major General in the Continental Army.

1787 - Delaware ratified the United States Constitution and became the first state.

1917 - The United States declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In more offbeat news:
1963 - Instant replay debuted in the Army-Navy game.

1999 - A&M Records sued Napster opening the door for hideous DRM shackles for content consumers around the globe.
The more you know...
Cheers,
Chili

 

2smoke

Lurker
Feb 12, 2014
21
2
Flowery Branch, Georgia
I have been to the Arizona memorial and looked upon the granite slab with all of the names of the ones that lost their lives on the ship that lies below. It is a very surreal feeling that comes over you as you stand there. December 7, 1941. May we never forget!

 

echambers

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 21, 2017
118
4
My grandfather transferred back stateside from Pearl Harbor on the 5th. He never really talked about it with me but I understand he carried a lot of survivor guilt with him the rest of his life.

 

darwin

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 9, 2014
820
5
Just read a fascinating article about a second little known attack on Hawaii on March 4, 1942.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-second-time-japan-attacked-pearl-harbor/article/2642463

 

echambers

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 21, 2017
118
4
FDR's draft speech:
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brightleaf

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 4, 2017
555
4
Warren I believe we are in much better shape now than the military was December 7, 1941.
We are in much better shape militarily. Our country's military was completely restructured after WW2. The National Security Act of 1947 created the Air Force, the CIA, the Army basically became a large force in peacetime, instead of abiding by the Constitutional prohibition of a standing army in peacetime. All of the armed forces also came under more centralized control to allow for something similar to what the Patriot Act and Homeland Security perfected. In a way both December 7, 1941 and the day of September 11, 2001 were catalysts to a streamlined military super power. They are both days that will live in infamy.

 
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