Two Dates of Infamy and Their Lessons

Remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor, we also should be reminded of the attack on the twin towers, the Pentagon, and the botched try which landed in a field. In all these we come to find out that tomorrow holds no guarantee for anyone.

Moreover, on December 7th we take time to remember of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It should teach us lessons in the "trust no one department" and "be on the lookout for the next one".

Even though, Pearl Harbor happened many years ago today, it should also remind us of the evil in men's hearts. It reveals to us that with each day come new challenges. Pearl Harbor opened up the finite and revealed to us infinity, which sometimes is allowed to bear its teeth and swallow men whole. On this day, Eternities teeth did indeed bear down upon a small island in the Pacific. It showed us that "hell" can be revealed to us when Eternity allows it to be so. Of course, the holder of Eternity is the Lord Himself. When Eternity swallowed the men, women, and islands of Hawaii, it swallowed the United States of America. The struggle then became one, of destiny and purpose, which fought the evil that struck out to destroy us.

That day held remembrance for our family. My Grandfather was the City manager of Catalina and also had been the Sea Ranger (like Forest Ranger) working the Island waters surrounding it. When the attack happened, my Grandfather told my dad to get a gun, and "go down to the dock, shooting anything or anyone parachuting from the skies". The people on Catalina that day upon hearing what happened in Hawaii expected the next step for the Japanese would be the shorelines of the United States of America.

The invasion never came as relieved residents of the island of Catalina found out. But the events of war came, triggering the inevitable consequences of such a conflagration. This event would envelop my dad. He had been in high school when it all started, graduating after the war started. Immediately upon leaving High School, Dad joined tens of thousands of other young people to go to war. Many of whom, would not come back, while others would come back maimed or hurt. For Him, being drafted into the Navy was his baptism of fire. After going to Corpsman school, Dad became a medic on the islands of the Pacific. For Him, death and bloodshed was the way of life. In this struggle, some found life. In all of it, though, the battle for survival affected everyone involved. Surely, now, everyone was involved. From those at home living with the rationing of goods and services to others working in the factories to produce the war materials for those fighting on the front lines. It became clear that all were affected by this event.

No one can understand why wicked things happen. Things happen to good people and bad. Cutting short lives, wedding plans, births, and peace itself. These kind of events trigger moments in history that for all who are involved never forget them. The occasion that brought us into WWII lasted only for around two hours. The attack on Pearl Harbor and on the airfields of Oahu, according to the website worldwar2history, show that the Japanese sank or severely damaged 18 ships, including the 8 battleships, three light cruisers, and three destroyers. On the airfields the Japanese destroyed 161 American planes (Army 74, Navy 87) and seriously damaged 102 (Army 71, Navy 31). The Navy and Marine Corps suffered a total of 2,896 casualties of which 2,117 were deaths (Navy 2,008, Marines 109) and 779 wounded (Navy 710, Marines 69). The Army (as of midnight, 10 December) lost 228 killed or died of wounds, 113 seriously wounded and 346 slightly wounded. In addition, at least 57 civilians were killed and nearly as many seriously injured."

With this battle in the Pacific, America learned for the first time what an enemy can be like. It was not like others she had faced. Americans learned firsthand of suicide bombers. Yes, we hear of them all the time today. But during WWII, the Japanese really put it to devastating use. Japanese pilots would dive their planes directly into ships, making a fireball of tremendous magnitude, killing many Americans in the melee. Americans would find out what fighting to the end meant as ‘soldiers of the empire of the Sun' would not give up. At other times, they would find Japanese soldiers had committed Hari-Kari, rather than giving themselves up to the Americans. In the end, America won the War. The cost was monumental in men, women, blood, sacrifice, wounded, and rebuilding.

Today, America still has enemies. The faces may have changed, but the battle plan is the same. Their hatred of our way of life and even ourselves, preclude us from being passive in this. If we falter one bit, the enemy will take advantage of us. Make no mistake, Dec 7th, 1941 is a day we remember, but it is also a warning. Evil never rests. People who hate us never stop hating us. Rejoicing over our hurts, failures, and pitfalls, the enemies of America will not stop till they destroy us or we destroy them. There is not a single inch of middle ground here. You will not bargain with this new enemy. You will do it His way or perish. For us, His way is ‘death to America and Americans'.

On September 11th, the attacks by planes upon American shores took over 3,000 lives. It rests alongside Pearl Harbor as a ‘day of infinity'. The smoke of the twin towers could be seen rising for days. I remember looking at the video of that day. Smoke, dust clouds, metal falling, fire bursting out the sides, people running in horror, and in the end a pile of twisted metal, housing the remains of innocent people. Many of whom were completely incinerated by the heat. They were never found.

The next scene that brings about the most vivid pictures is one of unbelief. There on television bore video of the Palestinians who were dancing in the streets over what happened to America. Then we saw Osama Bin Laden smiling over the results of the planning of Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, meaning "the base" had struck the beast as they had seen it. America in all its worldly trappings was the beast to these Arab warriors. They seem to of taken the playbook from the Japanese. Using planes and striking into the heart of the enemy.

We can never stop in this battle. The warriors we face will not quit till they are dead. They will not bargain nor make truces. If they seem to make a truce, it is for a delay tactic. Both dates are infamous today. The events, which took place on those dates, took many American lives. The ability of our enemy to literally ‘shake the towers of history' so to speak and bring us into such a warring scenario should not be forgotten. In the wings of history and ebb tides of eternity, another enemy is waiting to destroy us. May God keep us as long as we keep Him.