Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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The Licking News, Dec. 11, 1941 |
By Christy Porter,
Managing Editor
Editor’s Note: In 1941 news was not reported
as quickly as it is today. The main sources of communication were wire and
radio technology, the Teletype, and radar technology which was making
advancements. There was no Internet, worldwide web or ‘smart’ phones. So while we receive
world news today as it’s happening, that was not so until the 1980’s and much
more so in the 1990’s. Many, especially in the rural areas would not receive
the world news for days, or sometimes weeks.
On Sunday, Dec. 7,
1941, at 7:55 a.m., the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the United
States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The entire attack lasted less than two hours
and caused immense devastation.
In 1941 Pearl
Harbor was and still is now an active U.S. Naval Military Base and Headquarters
of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. It is also now a National Historical Landmark. Pearl
Harbor lies in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 3,000 miles from
the west coast of the continental United States and 4,000 miles from Japan.
While WWII began in
Sept. 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, causing the U.K. and France to
declare war on Germany two days later, the U.S. had not yet entered the war. After
the bombing on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared a state of war on
Japan, Mon. Dec. 8th. On Dec. 11th, Axis powers Germany and Italy
allied with Japan and
declared war on the U.S. The United States joined the Allies: Britain,
France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Soviet Union and China in
the Second World War.
While largely
focused in Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the
Mediterranean Sea, more than 50 countries and all continents except Antarctica
would to some extent be involved in this great international conflict.
According to The
National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Japan struck with a force of 353 aircraft
launched from four heavy carriers, two heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, two light
cruisers, nine oilers, two battleships and 11 destroyers.
A valiant effort by
the U.S. personnel resulted in the loss of 29 Japanese aircraft and five midget
submarines, one Japanese soldier taken prisoner and 129 Japanese soldiers
killed.
The attack killed
2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, and wounded 1,178. Nineteen U.S.
Navy ships were destroyed or damaged, including 8 battleships. Three hundred
twenty-eight U.S. aircraft were destroyed or damaged. Fortunately the three
aircraft carriers of the fleet were out to sea during the attack, also
according to The National WWII Museum.
While not universally agreed upon, it is
generally accepted that WWII ended Aug. 14th, 1945. The formal surrender of
Japan aboard the USS Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan, Sept. 2nd, 1945
would officially end the war in Asia.
The Battleship USS
Arizona remains sunken in Pearl Harbor and is the resting place of the sailors and
Marines killed on board in 1941 along with its survivors who’ve chosen to be
interred there. The USS Arizona Memorial was built in 1962, on top of, but not
touching the sunken USS Arizona.
In honor and
memoriam of the Battle of Pearl Harbor, the WWII Valor in the Pacific National
Monument encompasses the USS Arizona Memorial, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum
and Park, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum and the USS Battleship Missouri
Memorial. The Battleship USS Missouri was not present at Pearl Harbor in 1941,
but was later moved to the site.
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