2007
A Day Which Will Live in Infamy
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By Ken Marrero
We used to talk like that when we were ambushed. We used to know the difference between a legitimate disagreement, or even a conflict, and a deliberate, unannounced act of war. We used to have the will to see through to the end what had to be done to ensure the threat that revealed itself in that act of war never threatened us again. We used to think we’d always be able to do that. Sadly, it would appear that we are not.
Hawaii is 4 hours behind us here in Tennessee. At 7:55AM, December 7, 1941 the Japanese conducted a surprise attack on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was 11:55AM here in Tennessee. Over the next 2 hours that attack would claim the lives of 2,403 Americans and wounded another 1,178.
Time Magazine has an excellent timeline of the events. Here are a few excerpts.
07:55 The raid begins at Pearl Harbor as the Raleigh, Helena, Utah and Oklahoma are struck.
07:56 There are two explosions on the Arizona. Pfc. James Cory: "The bridge shielded us from flames … Around the edges in these open windows came the heat and the sensation of the blast. We cringed there … I think that at this moment I wanted to flee, but this was impossible. You’re on station, you’re in combat."
08:06 A 1,763-lb. missile fired by PO Kanai Noboru hits the Arizona. It demolishes the forward magazine and kills nearly 1,000 men. "It was so vivid in my mind," says Private Le Fan, who saw the action from the Marine barracks. "[The Arizona] just quivered, buckled and then settled. It looked like … well, that killed it … It was so devastating."
8:08 Two bombs strike the West Virginia, whose captain, Mervyn Bennion, is mortally wounded by a piece of shrapnel that flies over from the Tennessee.
08:10 (13:40 E.S.T.) In Washington, President Roosevelt is informed by Navy Secretary Frank Knox that there has been a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. This is "just the kind of unexpected thing the Japanese would do," says FDR. "[A]t the very time they were discussing peace in the Pacific, they were plotting to overthrow it."
08:12 The Utah capsizes.
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