A Chilly Friday afternoon

It is a bit chilly here. Yesterday morning it was 1.8 degrees, man is that cold. My car doors were frozen shut temporarily. I was able to get them opened after a few seconds, my fingers nearly froze though.

I have been receiving such good emails lately, and I would like to share one or two with you, at least a picture or two. The two pictures below are from Arlington National Cemetery. Please take a minute to say a prayer for those service men/women, both past and present, who have/are serving our country and those who lost their lives for us. Remember, we are a free and proud nation because of them.

I received this email from one of my friends, Ron. As he reminds us, today is when Pearl Harbor was bombed and many service men/women lost their lives. It was also the beginning of us being drawn in to WWII, of which my father and uncles served in the Navy for our country.

Return to Naval Historical Center home page. Return to Online Library listing

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARDWASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:-- EVENTS -- World War II in the Pacific --
Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 --Overview and Special Image Selection

The 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

Eighteen months earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl Harbor as a presumed deterrent to Japanese agression. The Japanese military, deeply engaged in the seemingly endless war it had started against China in mid-1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these was gradually curtailed as the conquests continued. In July 1941 the Western powers effectively halted trade with Japan. From then on, as the desperate Japanese schemed to seize the oil and mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia, a Pacific war was virtually inevitable.

By late November 1941, with peace negotiations clearly approaching an end, informed U.S. officials (and they were well-informed, they believed, through an ability to read Japan's diplomatic codes) fully expected a Japanese attack into the Indies, Malaya and probably the Philippines. Completely unanticipated was the prospect that Japan would attack east, as well.
The U.S. Fleet's Pearl Harbor base was reachable by an aircraft carrier force, and the Japanese Navy secretly sent one across the Pacific with greater aerial striking power than had ever been seen on the World's oceans. Its planes hit just before 8AM on 7 December. Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead. Soon after, Japanese planes eliminated much of the American air force in the Philippines, and a Japanese Army was ashore in Malaya.

These great Japanese successes, achieved without prior diplomatic formalities, shocked and enraged the previously divided American people into a level of purposeful unity hardly seen before or since. For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan's far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by fruitful opposition. American and Allied morale suffered accordingly. Under normal political circumstances, an accomodation might have been considered.

However, the memory of the "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination to fight on. Once the Battle of Midway in early June 1942 had eliminated much of Japan's striking power, that same memory stoked a relentless war to reverse her conquests and remove her, and her German and Italian allies, as future threats to World peace.

This page features a historical overview and special image selection on the Pearl Harbor raid, chosen from the more comprehensive coverage featured in the following pages, and those linked from them:

Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941;
Japanese Forces in the Pearl Harbor Attack;
Overall Views of the Pearl Harbor Attack;
"Battleship Row" during the Pearl Harbor Attack;
Attacks off the West Side of Ford Island;
Attacks in the Navy Yard Area;
Attacks on Airfields and Aerial Combat;
Other Raid-related Events;
Damaged Ships after the Attack;
Raid Aftermath;
Post-Attack Ship Salvage.
Remembrance of the "Day that shall live in Infamy".

Today Amy is going to the Dr. to have the babies heart checked, regular checkup. She is hoping to have the ultrasound done today to see what the sex of the baby is. I don't think that she will be able to have it done today, too short of a notice. The Dr. will most likely order the test to be done another day, but we will see. Please keep Jason, Amy and my future great neice/nephew in your prayers.

I am going to be going to a Christmas Tea and craft party tomorrow afternoon from 2-4. It will be fun, it always is. Good food, crafts, and company, wish I could bring you all with me.

As Christmas gets closer, Please keep all your family and friends in your prayers and heart. Friends and Family are part of the reason for the warm feeling you have inside, especially at this time of year.

I am going to close now, but always remember I will be keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers, especially this time of the year. I really miss my friends and family that are so far away.

Love to all.