On this date in 1941 Japanese warplanes attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
and it's this attack that brought the U.S. into WWII.
In his now famous speech Franklin D Roosevelt delivered to the U.S. Congress the following day
he said, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by navel and air forces of the Empire of Japan."
Yes, that day lives in infamy in more ways than one.
This fall my family and I attended Wings Over Houston, and during this airshow, the attack on
Pearl Harbor is re-created by the Commemorative Air Force in a show they call "Tora, Tora, Tora".
It's a real live history lesson, unlike anything you will ever find in a
museum and for me always an emotional one even though I've seen it many times!
The announcer starts recreating the day and patriotic music starts to play and then . . .
as the planes start to fly in you can hear the hum, which quickly turns into a roar
and
as you stand there,
watching and listening to the initial bombing there is this fleeting moment of
watching and listening to the initial bombing there is this fleeting moment of
helplessness and a sense of complete panic.
You have a primitive response of fight or flight until you realize it really is just a reenactment.
But it is unsettling still, as you're whisked back in time, getting a glimpse of that day,
bearing witness to a sudden and massive assault.
But it is unsettling still, as you're whisked back in time, getting a glimpse of that day,
bearing witness to a sudden and massive assault.
The chaos. There is utter chaos.
You are overpowered by the explosions that rock the ground you stand on and you can feel the
heat from the fire on your face. The sound of machine guns comes from every direction.
And. It. Never. Stops!
The smell of smoke not only fills the air but makes it almost impossible for them to see where they are going.
The smell of smoke not only fills the air but makes it almost impossible for them to see where they are going.
And it's in watching something like this that you realize just how grateful you are for our men and women in uniform, their commitment and courage of selfless acts
And
for your freedom!
Thank you for joining me to "Remember Pearl Harbor"
Love, Kim
XO
Sharing today at The Creative Exchange
