Sadly, I believe thanks to the current crop of politicos, thieves, Marxists, et al, inhabiting the halls of power, we've already slipped back into a slumber.

Since we began "dumbing down" public education we have been careful to avoid the teaching of history. We may now know the roles played by women and minorities during WWII, we are afraid of telling about its causes.

A college student appeared on TV some time ago and stated that Japan would not have attacked Pearl Harbor if we had not first dropped the atomic bomb. We have deprived a generation of their history. Sad state of affairs.

Remember Pearl Harbor!!!

I love America but are really getting soft. WAKE UP YOU SLEEPING GIANT

This why we must launch a preemptive strike on Iran without any dithering. It may be too late to wait until January 2013

We were fighting them before you (Axis power - remember)We fought them in Malaya, Singapore, Burma and a few other places while you sat back and said "It'll never happen here". Had America stood up at the start of hostilities in 1939 instead of waiting for 1942, there would never have been a Pearl Harbour. Pet rant - my father saw the results of Japanese atrocities first hand, he forgave the Germans, but never the Japanese.

"It is with honor and respect for those who died or suffered terrible injuries that Sunday morning that we should never again fall into the slumber that allowed such a tragedy as Pearl Harbor -- or the attack on Sept. 11, 2001 -- again." Definitely agreed: Remember Pearl Harbor and 9/11 to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and so that they will not have died in vain.

Two books to read:

Pearl harbor: The Story of The Secret War, by George Morgenstern.

Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy, by Percy L. Greaves, Jr.

Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. We are currently faced today with the same thing the country was faced with back in the 1930s and 1940s: a federal government administration run by people fascinated with communism, fascism, and socialism. Exercise your right to vote on November 6, 2012.

The media reported that the Commanders at Pearl Harbor knew the attack was coming. Not true. Read later history that revealed that Roosevelt knew, but the Commanders didn't know. Shame on Roosevelt.

Now all we have to do is realize that Islam is out to destroy the U.S. & our way of life.

We need to beef up the U.S. Military and use the full might of the military to destroy Islam NOW!!!!!

The attack happened and the world changed. The reasons Japan attacked are not as important as the apologists and appeasers would make them out to be. It was an evil act, an infamous act, in the words of FDR. The same is true 70 years later. It does not matter why someone is willing to blow themselves, and innocents, up. It only matters that an evil act has been committed. The move to excuse on the basis of motivation is wrongheaded and nearly as hurtful to living victims as the original evil.

I interviewed a Pearl Harbor vet a few years ago before he passed on. I am a vietnam era disabled vet but I could not do justice to his story. The sights, the sounds were beyond our language to pen. I did my best though and his story was written. To these men, I salute, to the ones who passed, I salute.

In general, a nice statement. However, you may want to fact check your statement about needing "the full military and industrial might" of the United States to defeat Japan. A decision was made early on that only approximately 10 per cent of the war effort would go towards defeating Japan; the balance would go towards the war in Europe.

There were many bloody battles in the Pacific theater; Peleliu comes quickly to mind, as described by Bill Ross in "Peleliu: Tragic Triumph", but it was still only a comparatively small part of the overall war effort.

if we had ths same kind of assholes in charge goos as we do now we would all speaking japanees&german& goose stepping

I had the honor and privilege of visiting Pearl Harbor and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) and was so humbled. Met and talked to a couple of survivors. I would hope that every American would have the opportunity to visit these hallowed grounds.

Thank God for our fathers, grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers that composed the Greatest Generation for their sacrifice to fight for our country. Who thinks today's generation would have the testicular fortitude to make the same sacrifices required to keep our country fee under similar circumstances today?

We need to remember that it was on a Sunday as well. We were in Church... That was part of their war strategy as well. "Kill them while they sleep or while they worship" THAT is why it was "a Day of Infamy" They were bastards. THAT is why they got nuked.

My father-in-law was a combat engineer in the U.S.Army in Europe during the war. He saw firsthand the horrors of the German concentration camps. It affected him deeply, but he bore no ill will toward Germans. The Germans were just as capable of atrocities as the Japanese during WWII. As regarding forgiveness, I prefer the wisdom of a man who chooses to forgive rather than let unresolved hatred eat away at the soul over an entire lifetime. If I had experienced what so many of our parents generation did I'm not sure I could forgive, but I salute those who found a way. God bless the amazing men and women who gave all to preserve our precious, priceless freedoms. I believe the current generation fighting for us is just as great in every way. God bless them, too.

And yet we forget that 9/11 killed nearly 3000 innocent civilians, where as the nearly 2400 killed in Pearl Harbor were mostly military personal and that propelled us into WWII.

America had it's head in the sand in 1941. The War Clouds were looming and we ignored the warnings.

Again America is in denial, but this time the threat is from within. Socialism and Political Correctness has crept into the Schools,the Judiciary,Congress, the Press, and now the Oval Office. We are all doomed to lose this wonderful experiment in Freedom called America unless we change course soon. Please don't let "This Shining City on the Hill" crumble into the ash heap of History. Don't let them steal our children's future. Vote for Freedom and less Government this fall.

Thank God (no disrespect intended) that the aircraft carriers weren't at Pearl that day.

It took that long to defeat Japan because we stuck our heads in the sand while they were busy entrenching themselves throughout the Pacific. The old "isolationist" attitude simply does not work and always comes back to bite us. We must stay tuned to the world and its "usual suspects" and know what is afoot at all times.

Read Pat Buchanan's most recent article about Pearl Harbor and FDR

My father abruptly left college in his third year,hitchhiking to Denver on the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed---he was the first fella to join the military in Colorado--sleeping 'til the doors opened on Dec. 8th on the steps of a federal bldg. where recruitment was to take place. I believe the best thing we can do as children and grandchildren of WWII veterans, is to do everything to preserve their memory, sacrifices, and love of our country.

I've posted video clip links and stories at americanreflections.us--all on Pearl Harbor, "Day of Infamy".

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=47962

It is my understanding that the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 resulted in the loss of just three ships. The dry docks were not destroyed and the water was so shallow that most damaged ships could be raised and repaired. Most of those repairs were completed in a manner of weeks and months. Indeed the saving of the dry docks might have been the greatest blessing. Even while we slumber, our Father in Heaven does not. He has always looked out for us. I pray He will continue.

America had it's head in the sand in 1941. The War Clouds were looming and we ignored the warnings.

Again America is in denial, but this time the threat is from within. Socialism and Political Correctness has crept into the Schools,the Judiciary,Congress, the Press, and now the Oval Office. We are all doomed to lose this wonderful experiment in Freedom called America unless we change course soon. Please don't let "This Shining City on the Hill" crumble into the ash heap of History. Don't let them steal our children's future. Vote for Freedom and less Government this fall.

Interesting that after seventy years we still refer to "...the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor..." but we cannot, even ten years later, refer to 9/11/01 as "...the Islamic attack on the World Trade Center."

Another indication of the 'wussification' of America?

Our Country is in bad hands now, we must return the government to hero's' not Marxist...

I think so many people forget about Pearl Harbor, the losses there, Human and materiel,We can replace the material, but not the lives of our Service people,so,I feel so much is taken for granted now in this country, and seems like people can't rationalize what 911 meant, and still means and what it is we need to stay vigilant about, the people that are bent on destroying this Great Nation

of ours and trying internally to destroy us, even people in our own Government are suspect in my opinion, way too liberal and apologetic, we don't need to apologize to anyone, we have a right to defend our interests. To me, it's shocking to see the implementation of things put on the American people today, it's also criminal that these things are being put into play. I just hope enough people remember what is taking place now and vote accordingly. You would have to be dumb to not know what has taken place in this country in the last 3 years.

A book to read that tells the story of one man and what he went through at the hands of the Japanese during WWII. UNBROKEN:A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. I'm about 1/2 way through and it is riveting.

The real shame is not that People forget about Dec. 7, 1941, the shame is in the fact that the History of our Country, is not being taught in our School system, so if this continues our offspring will never know from where they have come, and will not know where they could end up.

It ONLY took four years, and was the last war we

ever fought to a final and victorius conclusion.

IT DID NOT take four years and the full military-industrial capability of the United States to defeat Japan. It took four years and the full military-industrial capability of the United States AND IT'S ALLIES to defeat Japan AND Germany!

The comments at are just what I expected, with the usual 'today we are dumbed down', or how great FDR was, or how cowardly they were to attack on Sunday, etc.

In all honesty, Hawaii was a military base, much like the 900 something we have around the world today. Add to that, that we were using that base to attack Japan's supply line across the Pacific that they needed for fuel and other supplies. That, by itself, was an act of war by America, and not much different than the sanctioning and no-fly zone crap we keep pulling in the Middle East. I am sure everyone stationed there must have known about what we were doing to the Japanese and that they were at risk. The Japanese, themselves, warned FDR that they were coming to attack Pearl Harbor. He decided not to warn his commanders. Much like all the warnings our government agencies were getting about the attack of 9/11. As far as Sunday attack goes - in war there is no day off.

Thanks to the armed forces for what they did in responding to the sneak attack on December 7, 1941. At a time when our freedom and way of life was hanging in the balance our now dwindling WW II generation did what they had to do to preserve our essential liberty. And dropping both of the atomic bombs were also brave decisions that saved possibly a million American lives by averting the ground assault on Japanese home islands. Thanks be to God for providentially giving us that WW II generation of heroes.

The comments at are just what I expected, with the usual 'today we are dumbed down', or how great FDR was, or how cowardly they were to attack on Sunday, etc.

In all honesty, Hawaii was a military base, much like the 900 something we have around the world today. Add to that, that we were using that base to attack Japan's supply line across the Pacific that they needed for fuel and other supplies. That, by itself, was an act of war by America, and not much different than the sanctioning and no-fly zone crap we keep pulling in the Middle East. I am sure everyone stationed there must have known about what we were doing to the Japanese and that they were at risk. The Japanese, themselves, warned FDR that they were coming to attack Pearl Harbor. He decided not to warn his commanders. Much like all the warnings our government agencies were getting about the attack of 9/11. As far as Sunday attack goes - in war there is no day off.

I asked our new, very young receptionist this morning, "What happened in history on this date 70 years ago?" She looked troubled. So I asked her, " what is todays date?" Dec. 7th. Again I asked, " what happened in history on Dec. 7, 1941?" She said, " the civil war started." I felt sad. I told of Pearl Harbor and that my Dad was there. She asked, "Didn't they do that because we dropped an Atomic bomb on them?"

What have we done to our children?

Your comments about Pearl Harbor are right on, except it did not note that WW-II is still ongoing. Joe Stalin's best friend FDR put Income Tax Withholding in place to pay for the war. As Income Tax Withholding is still in place the war must not be over. If Income tax withholding was eliminated there would be at least three good results. The people would have their own money to use instead of making an interest free loan to the federal government. The people would have to write a check to Uncle on April 15,imagine the uproar. The great unwashed would no longer be able to say, "I don't pay taxes, I get money back."

Miseducation is not limited to the US. Robert the Biker is the victim of miseducation in the UK. Contrary to his assertion that Britain had been battling the Japanese before Pearl Harbor, hostilities between the Japanese and the British Empire began with Japanese attacks against British Forces in Malaya and Thailand on December 8,1941. On December 10, 1941, Japanese land based dive bombers sumk the Battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse while they were underway off Malaya.

If you want an example of miseducation in the US, just read dandan for a prime example of garbage in and garbage out. We were NOT using Hawaii as a base to attack the Japanese supply line in the Pacific before December 7, 1941. Japan commenced a sneak attack on United States forces without warning and without any declaration of war on December 7, 1941. The two nations were at peace until the Jap planes dropped bombs on the US Pacific fleet as it rested in Pearl Harbor at 7:55 AM on December 7, 1941. When the smoke cleared, then we began to attack their supply line from Hawaii but not well or effectively until the Battle of Midway in June of 1942. Assertions to the contrary dandan are just not true.

I agree with LibertysSon and I'm very worried that with the socialistic state of mind so prevalent in our country today that under the guises of budget balancing, our military strength will be diminished more and more. So much so, that should another Pearl Harbor or 9/11 happen, we won't have any way to defend ourselves.

Wake Up America! Read the true hestory of

Wake Up America! Read the truth about FDR and his lies about the attack. The japs tryed to make a treaty with the USA but the DEMOCrates would not. IT is my belief that FDR new they were comming.Think about it, of all the air traffic over the rout the Japs took and not one report of the huge amount of war ships aproching Pearl Harbor?????????

Amazing how having the grit to declare War over Pearl Harbor, and be committed to Win it, shortened the length of and death toll for the entire effort which ended Sept of 1945. Compare that with Korea, Vietnam, Iraq & Afghanistan lives and resources wasted .... no declaration of war, no will to win.

What are we thinking?

We Have Lost Our Honor, Our Integrity and Our Grit as a nation.

The Constitution has less value than a wet paper towel thanks to the efforts of public officials for the past 60 years. At least a wet paper towel can be used to serve the end of a constipation event once the effluvia is flushed from the system.

Anyone think flushing Congress would be a good start?

@Kelly Jarboe: Your assessment of the role of education is correct. But this dumbing down of America began during the dawn of the Progressive era around 1903. It has taken that long to get us where a high school student today, in this blog, stated that the reason Japan attacked us at Pearl Harbor was because we dropped an atom bomb on them. How long will it take us to march back our education system to where at least they teach history and not fantasy?

The old saying that more or less says: "Those who do not study history, are are destined and doomed to repeat it", . . . is totally applicable here. If it were only the schools it might not be so bad, but it has totally permeated our national fabric. It is more important to spend days fawning over dancing with the stars or the bachelorette, than taking the time to put together honest, factual, non-slanted news. Where are you when we need you now, Ernie Pyle?

Carl, Your belief that there was a "huge" amount of air traffic flying in the North Pacific to be able to detect the Pearl Harbor attack force is just that, a belief, not fact. Having had the occasion to fly from Hawaii to Japan in the late 50's in reciprocating engine planes, the only route available was Hawaii, Midway, Wake, Guam, Japan. Even Pan Am used that route. So detection of the Japanese before the attack by observation from the air was not possible. I might add that observation of the red underlines could help improve the credibility of your comments.

I agree with LibertysSon and I'm very worried that with the socialistic state of mind so prevalent in our country today that under the guises of budget balancing, our military strength will be diminished more and more. So much so, that should another Pearl Harbor or 9/11 happen, we won't have any way to defend ourselves.

"They will remain forever young, and we will remember them with the rising and the setting of every sun"...Anon

We didn't remember Pearl Harbor or 9/11 and what happened then with our forces scattered across the globe, reducing the number of ships and planes and lack of public support of our military will cause it to repeat once again. We are lethargic and apathetic. Our industries are skeletons of the past and our economy shattered. Our leaders have betrayed us and are leading us as lambs to the slaughter. Frankly, we deserve what we get: it's our fault!

According to an article by Pat Buchanan, a recently released book clearly shows that the Roosevelt gang egged on the Japanese attack. It could have been, and should have been avoided.

GOD bless all who died on that tragic day. By the grace of GOD we defeated the Empire of Japan that attacked us without provocation. Our servicemen and women were truly the Greatest Generation. Thank you for keeping us free!

Tom

I wonder what people will think on September 11, 2071. At the rate our country's memory is fading, I wonder if any will know of any significance of that date. Sad.

Kudos to Robert The American and Walter M. Nowosad for the historical corrections to a couple of comments above. That couldn't be allowed to stand. At 1000 hours to 1400 hours today at the Tucson VA Hospital, the members of the Tucson Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers Society ran a model display on the 70th anniversary of the Day Of Infamy, 7 December 1941. There were many models displayed from both sides, American and Japanese equipment, for the benefit of the patients and visitors at the VA hospital. We had 3 U.S. Army survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack stop by and spend time at our tables. It is all about Honor. Semper Fi!

It is with utmost respect that I recall this date, not because I was even alive when it happened, but due to the memories of my now 95 year old Dad, and others who were there that have passed through my life.

My Dad recalls this day as the divider in all of life as he knew it. All life that he accepted as normal ended December 7, 1941.

He later served on Guam, and his cousin died at Bataan by mid 1942. An uncle was serving on the USS Arizona when the attack came, and survived.

I have listened, written down memories, and tried to pass them on to my children and grandchildren.

History has never been kind to those who lived it.

To those who are ignorant of it, or prefer to accept a distorted rendition, history turns into a stark and horriffic current reality.

It is with the help of God that any nation succeeds.

When a nation abandons God, there will be Hell to pay.

My dad was in the Navy in world war II. Now there is a US Postage first class stamp honoring a Muslim holiday. This is a taste of your future unless you remember the history of our country and VOTE. Wake up!

You say: "It took four years and the full military-industrial capability of the United States to defeat Japan." Not so. Only about 15% of American resources were used to fight Japan; 85% were used to fight Germany. The gap between those percentages would have narrowed had the war in the Pacific dragged on, as surely it would have had the A-Bombs not ended it.

God bless all the WWII vets who endured more than we of our modern times can imagine in order to ensure a free world. It is a shame the American public is about to slip into complacency that would never have happened during the time of the Second Great World War.

It did not take the "full industrial" might of the U.S. to defeat Japan - the full industrial might of the U.S. defeated Japan and Germany! Military leaders of the War in the Pacific were constantly on the short end of receiving supplies, manpower, etc. We defeated Japan with one hand tied behind our back.

It did not take 4 full years to defeat Japan. They were, for all intents and purposes, defeated after naval battles at Savo and Midway which eliminated their naval supremacy of Pacific theater.

The vast majority of Americans under the age of 50 have chosen not to remember events that are unpleasant, for fear of having to do something to aid our great nation. I do remember, my Dad was on the USS Maryland at Pearl, I was in Vietnam, my son-in-law in Iraq and Afganistan, its hard to forget. Bless all those who have ever served.

Don't thank God that the carriers were out. And don't thank FDR that it only took 4 years to enslave half of the free world. And, yeah, there were warnings. But it was still a sneak attack on the hapless victims who weren't allowed to prepare for it. All above B.S. to the contrary.

God bless all who served. God bless those who perished that day, and their families in their loss.

Another good book about the Pacific Theater; With the Old Breed, Eugene Sledge.

To those who believe that the attack on Pearl was not a suprise attack, please check original sources. I don't know where you've gotten that information but it is wrong. Was there intel that could have been used to come to the conclusion that Japan was planning and implementing a suprise attack, yes, but in hind sight things always seems so much clearer than in the moment.

Washington DC did send a message to warn Pearl Harbor but due to poor atmospheric conditions, limiting any coded radio message, it was sent via commercial telegraph at 7:33 am. It arrived after the attack had been commenced by the Japanese at 7:49 am. The message from the leader of the first wave of attackers to the task force was: to ra, to ra, to ra. "to" means attack, "ra" was an indication that surprise had been achieved. See:

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/interactive/pearl-harbor/?ar_a=1

Pearl Harbor 60 years later. If you think we won the war against the Japanese in 1945 go outside into a large mall parking lot and count the Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi emblems you will find there. I am not sure 'Win' is the appropriate term.

I think its terrible we issued an apology to Japan for dropping an atomic bomb on two of their cities after Pearl Harbor. If anything, they should be thanking us that that is all we bombed and that we gave the civilians of those cities advanced notice of it so that they had time to leave.

The islands of Japan are resource-poor. This was one of the great motives of Japan's hostility. The attempted to create "the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" with them in control by military force.

For Japan, war began in 1937 with the invasion of China. Dec 13 Nanking China captured – the Rape of Nanking began.

There were a number of responses to the Japanese by the Americans, including cutting off sales of American oil and steel in April 1939 and moving the US Pacific fleet to Hawaii from Sand Diego in May 1940. The Japanese found both of these threatening. In September 1940 Japanese troops invaded Indochina, the Axis Powers were formed, and China was "loaned" aircraft for the Flying Tigers. The winds of war were gusting.

June 30, 1940 British appeasement for Asia – closed Burma road. July 17, 1940 Japanese troops occupied Hong Kong.

January 1941 the Admiral Yamamoto began planning the Pearl Harbor attack.

There were a number of warnings from the American ambassador in 1941.

Feb 14, 1941 Ultimatum to Japan re attack on Singapore.

Sept 4, 1941 FDR closed Panama Canal to Japan

Nov 3, 1941 Yamamoto’s attack plan approved

US Ambassador warned that attack is not only likely, but immanent.

Nov 10, 1941 Churchill warned Japan that a war with US means war with Britain

Nov 20, 1941 Final plans for Pearl Harbor attack – orders issued

Nov 26, 1941 Japan carrier force set sail – 6 carriers 28 subs, 11 destroyers, 2 battleships, 2 cruisers

Nov 27, 1941 Secretary of War sent Hostile Action Possible warning to Pacific bases – Pearl issued sabotage alert

December 7th, Air and submarine raid on Pearl Harbor.

(Note: date changes with location relative to the International Date Line)

Dec 7 (8th) Japanese invades Malaya

Dec 7 (8th) Japan attack Hong Kong

Dec 7 (8th) Japan air attack Philippines – most US planes destroyed on ground – all P40s destroyed

Dec 8, 1941 US at war – declares war on Japan, attack hits Wake Island

Dec 10 Japanese troops invade Luzon, Philippines.

Worth noting: Dec 11, 1941 Fascist Italy and then Nazi Germany declared war on the U.S. in support of their Axis partner Japan.

This is a bare timeline of the run-up and Japanese attacks, folks. It obviously wasn't a bolt-from-the-blue. There was plenty of increasing tension and "sanctions"-type response from FDR.

Given the destruction of much of the Italian fleet by torpedo at shallow Taranto bay by British naval air attack on the night of Nov 11/12, 1940, we can hardly claim that we didn't think such a thing was possible. OTOH, since it was erroneously believed early in the war that warships could defend themselves against air attack, perhaps if FDR did know of the impending attack, he thought that the ships could defend themselves and the result would not be as nearly as bad as it was. Then, too, was the underestimation of the Japanese military, inspite of all their successes to date.

Combine the above with the very-well-known fact that FDR wanted us to get into the war, to suspect FDR's administration of deliberately ignoring warnings is not unreasonable.

Our industrial might was prodigious - Halsey had hundreds of ships in the 3rd fleet at the Phillipines when Kinkade had the 7th - "McArthur's Navy" at the invasion. At the begining of the war we had 5 carriers total. Halsey alone had 18 Essex-class "Fast Fleet carriers" and Kinkade had a dozen or so "Jeep" CVEs - the escort carriers. By that time in the war (and following the "great Marianas turkey-shoot" Battle of the Philippine Sea in June) the US had more ships at the Battle for Leyte Gulf than the Japanese had aircraft!