Remember Pearl Harbor

by Lawrence Kadish • December 3, 2024 at 1:00 pm

Japanese military warlords had miscalculated in their 1941 attack on the American fleet berthed at Pearl Harbor. Amidst the smoking ruin of our Pacific fleet came an anger and desire for justice that would not stop until a Japanese delegation, directed by Emperor Hirohito, surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay four years later. Pictured: Sir Arthur Percival and Jonathan Wainwright salute General Douglas MacArthur on board the USS Missouri, just before he accepts Japan's unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945. The Japanese delegation is led by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Army Chief of Staff General Yoshijiro Umezu. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

This December 7^th marks the 83^rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on the American fleet berthed at Pearl Harbor on a quiet Sunday morning.

It devastated our naval fleet, killing 2,403 Americans, and left a nation in shock.

The Japanese military warlords, however, had miscalculated. Amidst the smoking ruin of our Pacific fleet came an anger and desire for justice that would not stop until a Japanese delegation, directed by Emperor Hirohito, surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay four years later.

The Japanese attack on December 7^th united an America that until that morning was seriously divided over its role in a world that was in the midst of searing combat in Europe and China. Nazi Germany continued to win repeated victories, and the Japanese were conquering China at will.

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